The End Leads to New Beginnings
by Platinum Rivulet
Summary: Aang is learning anything he can so he can defeat the Fire Lord. Will that be the end of his adventures and challenges? Of course not! The Avatar has many adventures and challenges he has to face and overcome. One is controlling and expressing his feelings to a certain someone. Toph x Aang.
1. Chapter 1

**Well it's about time you guys found my stories dammit.**

 **So to get this story straight to the point. This timeline is essentially when the invasion plan failed so they had relocated at the Western Temple. Some minor changes might occur such as conversations they had and so on. That's about some the changes in this fanfic. Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

 **"** Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike.**

 _Ch. 1: Departure_

Aang and the rest of the gang were settling to the only place they could escape after the invasion plan on the fire nation failed: the Western Temple. Once they reached their destination they set up so they can plan a counterattack to save everyone and conquer the fire nation. Sokka thought long and hard on a new plan, but the Avatar wasn't cooperating at all.

"Hey Aang get over here we need a plan to save everyone." Sokka said.

"Yeah Aang I don't want to waste any time in trying to save everyone." Katara replied.

Aang tried listening, but there was only one problem. He didn't have a firebending teacher. Without one he really couldn't stand a chance against the fire lord. It's either that or surrendering, but he wasn't choosing the latter of the two.

"And exactly how do you guys want me to be a part of this plan when we can't even defeat the fire lord in my state." Aang asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out Aang." Sokka said.

"Well unless Aang can somehow miraculously learn fire bending by himself we can't really do any planning really." Katara pointed out.

"We could wait until the next eclipse." Toph sarcastically said.

"Be serious here Toph. Warriors' lives are at stake." Sokka said.

"Well we really can't plan anything with an empty stomach." Aang said

So team Avatar decided to set up camp, make dinner, and afterward just call it a day. Naturally, someone was forced to pitch in and get firewood to keep the fire from dying out and for cooking dinner.

"Well, guys whose turn is it to collect the wood for our fire?" Katara asked.

"I did it last time," Sokka said.

"Yeah now it's your turn Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yeah I'll go and get the wood," Aang said in a melancholic tone. "I'll be right back guys." Aang said as walked into the woods. No one noticed Aang's tone except for Toph, but she brushed it off seeing as how Aang is always in high spirits.

"Well, guys I guess we better get some food to cook." Katara said in a motherly tone. Everyone dispersed to go collect some plants, fruits, and animals so Katara can cook them and make dinner for the team.

While Aang was walking through the woods he was taking his time picking up wood as he was having an internal battle with himself. _What am I supposed to do? All these people are relying on me to save the world as the Avatar. It's too much. It's just too much. I couldn't save my people from the fire nation. If I can't save them how am I supposed to save the rest of the world from the fire nation?_ Aang thought to himself as he was on his knees on the verge of tears _. No! This isn't the time for me to have self-doubts. I have to give this last battle everything I have or else there won't be a place to call home. Anyway, I have to get back with the wood otherwise, they aren't going to be able to start a fire and just starve_. Aang thought as he ran back into the wood.

"Hey, guys I'm back with the wood." Aang said as he was forcing a smile.

"Well, it's about time Twinkle Toes. My stomach was starting to speak to me." Toph said as she was rubbing her stomach in hunger.

"Yeah what took you so long Aang. I thought you would've collected the wood a lot faster than the team collecting food." Sokka said in a surprising tone.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take a long way around to avoid it." Aang said as he smiled.

"Twinkle Toes that has got to be the worst excuse I've ever heard and that's coming from me." Toph said in disbelief.

Sokka smiled at the comment made by Toph. "Wow if Toph is complaining about it that means you suck at lying Aang."

"Alright I get it jeez." Aang said.

"Alright that's enough from you three. Now settle down or you won't get anything to eat." Katara said with an edge to her voice. All three of them got quiet with sweat dripping as they all feared Katara to an extent.

"Good, now that's more like it. Okay, Aang bring the wood so I can get dinner ready." Katara said as she did a full 180 with her voice

"Okay, since we don't have a firebender we're gonna have to this the hard way." Sokka said.

"Looks like it Snoozles." Toph said.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was setting up their tents so they could eat dinner and then just go to sleep.

"Man your cooking just can't beat sis." Sokka said in a joyful manner.

"It was good I guess Sugar Queen." Toph said.

"You guys don't have to compliment me. I enjoy cooking for you guys." Katara said as she smiled. "Alright, guys I think it's time to call it a day." Katara called out to the rest of the gang as some were already going trying to go to sleep.

"Looks like Snoozles beat you to the punch Sugar Queen." Toph called to Katara as she was poking Sokka with a stick.

"Man Snoozles is really out of it." as Toph was about to wake him up with her earth bending.

"Leave him alone Toph." Katara said as she moved Toph out of the way. "Anyway, I'm just gonna finish some things so Sokka and I can get some rest after a long day." Katara said with a very tired tone. Aang was the only one who wasn't setting up or going to sleep.

"Twinkle Toes you're not going to sleep?" Toph said as she noticed that Aang wasn't setting up.

"No I'm not tired." Aang replied.

"You're going to need your energy so try to get some shut eye Aang." Katara said.

"I'm just going to go and sit by the lake and relax a little." Aang said.

"Alright Aang, but don't take too long." Katara said in a motherly tone.

"Yeah don't worry Katara I won't be too long." Aang said as he walked down to the lake hiding his emotions from the rest of the group.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph was getting bored and wanting to mess with someone. Much to her dismay everyone was asleep. Even Appa and Momo were knocked out. Toph sat there playing with rocks until she was fed up and stood up. Katara was about to go to sleep when she noticed that Aang wasn't back from his little trip.

"Hey, Toph has Aang showed up yet?" Katara asked.

"No Twinkles hasn't shown up yet. Knowing him he's probably worked up over something." Toph said.

"I'm gonna go check on him." Katara said.

"Calm down Sugar Queen. He'll be back in a bit. No need to worry about him." Toph said.

Katara went back to her sack. "I guess you're right Toph. I mean what's the worst that can happen to him?" Katara said.

"Well looks like you're tired Sugar Queen. Get some sleep, I'll wait up for Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Thanks Toph. Anyway goodnight." Katara mumbled as she was fast asleep.

"Great that was all talk, but what am I supposed to do during the meantime?" Toph asked herself.

She thought of multiple things to do while her team was asleep the only problem was that whatever she planned on doing it was gonna wake up the rest of the group. She wasn't against her own idea, but she'd rather not get nagged on by everyone, especially Katara. So after a few minutes of pondering she finally found an answer to her problem.

"Well, whatever I'm gonna go find Twinkle Toes as least he can entertain me for a bit." Toph said with a smirk growing on her face.

 **XXXXXXXX**

As Toph walked along a trail she tried finding Aang so she could surprise him. _Where could that Twinkle Toes be?_ Toph thought as she was getting tired of trying to find the Air bender. She kept walking at least another five minutes before she found Aang by the lake. _Aha! I finally found you Twinkle Toes._ Toph trying to surprise Aang stopped midway feeling something wasn't right. She felt through her feet a bit of sadness coming from none other than Aang. _I wonder what his deal is._

Without turning his head he knew Toph was behind him and called out to her. "You gonna stand there all night Toph?"

Startling Toph out of her trance. "How did you know it was me Twinkle Toes?" asked a very surprised Toph.

"Let's just call it a hunch." he replied.

"What are you doing out this far from camp Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked as she was trying to think of something to say.

"Well, I did say I was heading to the lake." Aang replied.

"So what are you doing Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Oh, nothing much." Aang replied.

"Doesn't look like nothing much. Twinkle Toes your face looks like a dog that has just been abandoned." Toph said.

"Is it that bad?" Aang said with a feeling of dignity going down the drain.

"Yeah it does Twinkle Toes. So what's wrong with you?" Toph said.

"Nothing's wrong with me." Aang said.

 _Did he forget that I know when he's lying?_ Toph walked towards Aang just to get him to spill already.

"OWW! What was that for Toph?!" Aang was rubbing his shoulder that was just greeted by Toph's fist.

"That's for forgetting that I know when you're lying to me." Toph said as a grin was growing on her face.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean that you have to hit me!" Aang shouted at Toph.

"But that's how I show affection to others." Toph said as she smiled at Aang.

"If that's how you show emotion to others I can only imagine the amount of bruises you would give when you get a boyfriend." Aang said as he pointed out.

"Boyfriend?! I don't have the time to waste on a boy." Toph shouted at Aang.

"Sure you don't." Aang said as he was teasing Toph. "

Twinkle Toes you better _watch_ it." Toph said with an edge in her voice.

"Y-yes ma'am." Aang said in fear.

"Good. Anyway, so what's bothering you Twinkle Toes. You better tell me before I have to beat it out of you." Toph said as she turned her head towards Aang.

"Alright alright you don't have to resort to violence Toph. Well anyway, the fate of the world rests on my shoulders. If I don't beat Ozai this whole world is screwed. If I do beat him that means that everyone in the team gets to go home. I'm just not ready for everyone to leave home. I know it seems selfish of me, but you guys are the closest thing that I have to a real family." Aang said in a very depressing tone.

Toph didn't know what to say because she felt the exact same way, of course, she'd never say that out loud. For the first time, she actually felt accepted and not treated differently because of her lack of sight. She actually felt free from any restrictions that had previously held her back.

"Look Twinkle Toes I know for a fact that you're gonna beat the crap out of Ozai. Also just because they're leaving back home doesn't mean that they're going to forget us. After all, we're all a part of team Avatar." Toph said with a smirk. "Anyway since you don't want to stay all by yourself I'll stick to your side. So now you don't have to worry about ever being alone Twinkle Toes!" Toph said.

"Wait you mean you'd stay with me Toph? Aang said with his eyes wide open. "Aren't you going to go home with your parents Toph?" Aang still not understanding with what Toph had just blurted out.

"Look Twinkle Toes we both know that I wouldn't last a day with my parents so I'm just going to stick to your side." Toph said with confidence.

"Umm… yeah, why not?" Aang was stumbling over his own words.

"Let's get back to camp Twinkle Toes. I'm kind of tired of just sitting by the water." Toph said with a very annoyed tone.

"Hey, you're the one that followed me here. No one asked you to follow me." Aang said with a grin on his face.

"You're so annoying sometimes you know that Twinkle Toes?" Toph said very annoyingly.

"You mean like when I'm right." Aang said as he laughed at Toph.

"You're just asking to get pummeled right Twinkle Toes?" Toph said as she was starting to get annoyed.

"I thought you were getting sleepy, but if you wanted to spar, then why didn't you just ask?" Aang said as he looked at Toph.

"Yeah, I just lost all of my drowsiness now that I have to teach you why you shouldn't annoy me!" Toph said as she was getting ready to pummel Aang. "Alright, then Twinkle Toes you know the rules. Earthbending only you got that?" Toph said as a smirk showed on her face.

"Rules? Since when did the almighty earthbender start listening to rules? Much less apply them." Aang said as he was clearly mocking her.

"Since I was planning on beating the living crap out of you. That's when." Toph said as she was losing her cool.

"Before we start this sparring match can we move to a different place because I don't want us to wake up anyone and destroy this place" Aang said as he was pleading to the blind earthbender.

"Whatever it doesn't matter to me because I'm still gonna pummel you to the ground Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she was starting to feel a little impatient.

"Alright follow me Toph." Aang said as he ran to another area with Toph following him.

 **XXXXXXXX**

After five minutes of running, they finally made it to an area that was nothing but rocks and boulders.

"Finally! We made it to our destination." Aang said with a big smile on his face.

"Hey, Twinkle Toes how about making this sparring match more interesting?" Toph asked.

"Interesting how? Aang asked.

"The loser of the match has to do anything that the winner asks for a day." Toph said.

"You mean…. Anything?" Aang asked as his enthusiasm was slowly beginning to increase.

"Absolutely anything that is told by the winner." Toph assured him with a single nod.

S _hould I actually agree on this little wager of hers? Aang thought to himself. I can probably beat her with my normal earthbending. That's the problem. I'm not fighting against any normal earthbender. I'm dealing with one if not the greatest earthbender in the world. Aang was beginning to second guess this wager made by Toph. I might as well give it my all even if this is a sparring match._

"Alright, Toph you're on" Aang regaining his confidence as he started to grow a smirk on his face. Toph was able to sense it since she felt a different vibration coming from Aang.

 _What's his game? A minute ago I felt his pulse increase and I thought he gonna chicken out, but now he grew calmer in an instant_. Toph thought to herself. _Well if Twinkle Toes thinks that he can beat me he's got another thing coming. I mean I am the world's greatest earthbender. Not to mention world's first metalbender_. Toph was getting ready in her fighting stance.

"Alright, Twinkle Toes I'm gonna make this quick and win our little wager." Toph couldn't wait to make Aang into her personal slave.

Aang was the first to make a move as he raised his hand summoning rocks as big as his body. He sent them towards Toph as she punched through all of them.

"Is that all you got Twinkle Toes?" Toph said as she was expecting more of a fight.

Aang summoned three more boulders. He sent two of the boulders towards Toph. He knew that she would try to stop and destroy the boulders that were heading her way. Aang sent the third boulder over Toph's head so she wouldn't have noticed. Much to his dismay, she knew exactly what his plan was from the very get go.

"Not bad Twinkle Toes, but I think you forgot who you're dealing with." Toph said as she was already planning of defeating Aang.

Toph raised her hand as she summoned two boulders. One was a very large boulder while she hid the second behind the much larger boulder and sent it towards Aang. She knew Aang would try to dodge the first one out of instinct since he's an Airbender, so he wouldn't have time to dodge the other one and then he'd get hit by the second boulder. As if on cue, Aang dodged the large boulder, but things didn't go as accurate as Toph had expected. Once the second boulder was about to hit Aang he summoned an earth wall and stopped the second boulder. To say Aang was surprised was an understatement; he panicked and summoned that wall relying solely on instinct.

 _Well well looks like it's gonna take more than that to defeat Twinkle Toes._ Toph thought to herself. _Well, he is my pupil so I did train him right_.

Once again Toph summoned four boulders. She launched the first one towards Aang and missed. She then launched the remaining three at the same time hoping that Aang would lose his footing. Surely enough Aang destroyed two of the three boulders with him trying to evade the final boulder, but barely managing to stay upright. Toph then slammed her foot, summoning stalagmites. Aang still somehow able to evade all those stalagmites and after evading them he ran towards Toph with the intent of ending their match. Toph smirked as she used on of the boulders that she threw at Aang earlier.

 _I knew he was gonna forget the boulders that I sent at him earlier. A smart person is supposed to keep a watch of their surroundings._ Toph thought as she was about to end the match.

Out of nowhere Aang felt the boulder behind him and did a backflip in order to dodge the boulder in time and it headed towards Toph, but she was smarter than that to lose a match. She punched right through the boulder, but as she destroyed the boulder Aang was right in front of her.

 _Looks like I win our little bet Toph_. Aang thought as Toph raised her hands in surrender. That is until Toph smirked and pointed upwards towards Aang. He looked up and saw a massive boulder above his head feeling a sense of déjà vu.

 _When did she—?_ Aang thought to himself as he was looking at Toph.

"It was when I sent that first boulder in which I 'missed' and that other one you dodged in time. Honestly, Twinkle Toes do you think I would actually let my guard down without having a plan?" Toph said in disbelief. "Anyway, Twinkle Toes I won our bet." Toph said with a smirk on her face.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang and Toph were heading back to the campsite. Both were surprised as to how all that loud commotion they had made during their match hadn't woken up anyone.

"Wow I thought that fight would've at least made these guys open an eye or something." Aang said. "It's because I wasn't showing my full power Twinkle Toes." Toph said with a smirk.

"I think it's time for us go to sleep—" Toph said midway through her sentence as she passed out.

"Watch out Toph!" Aang shouted as he caught Toph right on time before she landed face first towards the ground.

"Come on Toph what's wrong?" Aang asked Then he heard soft breathing coming from the blind earthbender.

 _Yeah she sure wasn't showing her full power. I mean she just passed out from our little match. Well, we both must've gone a little overboard. Anyway, I better help her get to bed._ Aang thought to himself as he was carrying Toph to bed. _I should probably put her on Appa since it feels cold out tonight_. Aang thought while putting Toph on Appa and wrapping her in a blanket. _Well, I better get some shut eye as well if I want to restore my energy_. Aang thought as he was letting go of Toph until he felt some pair of hands grabbing onto him.

"Stay with me." Toph mumbled.

 _I wonder who's she thinking about._ Aang thought to himself.

"Aang don't let me go." Toph mumbled again.

 _Wait did she just say my name_. Aang thought to himself in disbelief. Toph kept holding tightly onto Aang.

 _Might as well just sleep with Toph or else I'm not going to get any sleep_. Aang thought as he gave up on getting Toph to let him go.

 _I'm going to have to wake up a little early to move away from Toph otherwise she's going to kill me if she sees us like this_. Aang groaned. Just the thought was troubling enough. Once he was closing his eyes he felt Toph snuggling closer.

"Much better." Toph mumbled with a smile on her face.

 _You're a weird person you know that Toph._ Aang thought as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph stretched her arms as she had woken up from the best sleep she'd had in a long time. That is until she looked to her side and saw Aang next to her. She panicked and fell off of Appa landing face first.

 _What the heck happened last night!_ Toph thought as she was rubbing her head trying to remember what happened after their sparring match.

She tried, but nothing came to mind. Aang woke up and felt warm inside. Then he panicked as he looked around noticing that Toph is nowhere near him.

 _Aw man! Guess I didn't wake up as early as expected. Great now how do I explain this to Toph_. Aang thought as he was looking for her.

He looked over his shoulder and noticed that Toph had fallen off of Appa.

 _Oh, there she is_. Aang was looking at Toph.

"Hey good morning Toph." Aang said as he was walking towards Toph.

"Hey, Twinkle Toes." Toph said. Aang looked around and noticed that everyone was still asleep.

 _What time is it?_ Aang thought. He looked up towards the sky and noticed that it was the crack of dawn.

"Toph how come you're up so early? It's not like you to wake up so early." Aang questioned.

"I could ask the same thing to you Twinkle Toes." Toph retorted. Aang was blushing how was he suppose to reply to Toph.

"Oh, I just have to go water the plants." Aang responded as he couldn't think of a better response.

"Since when were you so eager to water some plants?" Toph told Aang.

"Well since today as a matter of fact. Anyway, you haven't responded as to why you're up early."Aang said as he was heading to some trees.

"I just fell off of Appa alright." Toph said.

"Why didn't you just say that instead of getting us two into this argument?" Aang questioned Toph.

"Look whatever Twinkle Toes. Anyway, don't you have to go gardening or something?" Toph said as she was getting annoyed.

"Gardening? What are you talking about Toph?" Aang asked very confusedly.

"Watering the plants. You said you had to go water the plants." Toph replied.

"Oh r-r-right. Water the plants how could I forget." Aang said as he was stammering.

"Anyway, I'll be right back." Aang waved off as he went to some trees.

"Yeah, whatever Twinkle Toes." Toph replied with a cranky tone.

 _I hope Toph knew that I meant that I had to go pee._ Aang thought to himself

 **XXXXXXXX**

Once Aang returned he saw Toph lifting a boulder and was about to slam it down trying to get everyone to wake up.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing Toph?" Aang questioned.

"I'm trying to give them a good wake up call." Toph smiled at Aang.

"How about we just go and collect some firewood while the rest of the group is still asleep?" Aang said.

"Yeah why not? Anyway it's my turn to collect wood for our fire. Sugar Queen would be nagging that I'm not helping the team or the rest of the group did it now it's your turn." Toph said as she sighed in defeat.

"Well then let's get going before they wake up." Aang said.

"Lead the way O' great Avatar." Toph said with sarcasm.

Toph and Aang were in the woods grabbing pieces of wood. Well it was Aang who was collecting the majority of the wood.

"Hey Toph aren't you the one that's supposed to be collecting the wood? So why am I the one that's carrying the majority of the wood?" Aang asked with a confused look.

"Hey at least I'm collecting wood, aren't I? It's the work that counts right?" Toph said with a smile on her face.

"Plus did you forget?" Toph asked.

"Um...forget about what exactly Toph?" Aang asked very confusedly.

"Ugh. Is your head just full of air?! You have to do whatever I say until I feel like it. So now you're my personal slave Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Aw monkey feathers. I had totally forgotten about our bet! Man I regret making that bet with you Toph!" Aang said as he forced a laugh.

"Um. Hey Toph can I ask you a totally different question?" Aang asked.

"Sure what is it Twinkle Toes?" Toph said.

"How do you know I'm gonna beat Ozai?" Aang said with a crack in his voice.

"Are you still on about that? Look Twinkle Toes I know it's putting a lot of pressure on you, but you also have to realize that this isn't just about you. It's about fighting for the people who fear evil. I know it seems easy for me to tell you to stay positive. It's all just a load of crap. Picture it like this: you see yourself beating the living crap out of Ozai and you will beat the living crap out of him. Your bending teachers and I wouldn't have wasted our time teaching you all elements needed if we knew you couldn't beat Ozai. Everyone who wants to get rid of Ozai and end this war believes in you. I especially believe in you Remember Twinkle Toes I'm gonna stick to your side until the very end no matter what." Toph said as she was smirking at Aang. .

"Anyway, we should probably get back to the rest of the group Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yeah it's about time we head back. The sun's already coming out." Aang said.

"Yeah Snoozles wakes up really hungry. If we don't hurry someone is gonna be grumpy. Not that I'm complaining, but then Sugar Queen is gonna get on my case." Toph said as she was following Aang.

"You know I actually thought that we'd be the last to wake up from the rest of the group" Aang said.

"Well I guess miracles happen Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang and Toph both rushed to the rest of the team before they woke up, but by the time they reached the camp they were already waking up.

"Eh looks like we were a little late Toph." Aang said.

"It's not that big of a deal I mean they're barely waking up Twinkle Toes." Toph replied.

"What were you doing up so early?" Sokka asked as he was yawning.

"Well if you must know Snoozles, we were both busy getting some business done. Isn't that right Twinkle Toes?" Toph said as she turned towards Aang.

"Yeah we were actually busy doing some things." Aang said as he smiled at the rest of the group.

"Wow Aang I never knew you were like that." Sokka said with a grin.

"Um what do you mean by you never knew I was like that?" Aang asked as he was confused

"Ah Aang you can pretend to be innocent, but I know what you were up to." Sokka said as he was trying not to smile.

"Anyway I believe it's your turn to collect the wood for our fire Toph." Katara said.

"What do you think we were doing Sugar Queen?" Toph replied.

"Wait you actually collected the wood for the fire without being asked?" Katara said in shock.

"Yeah I did Sugar Queen. It was either doing it on my own free will or you nagging me until I would give in. Besides I had Twinkle Toes helping me out. _Right_ _Twinkle_ _Toes_?" Toph said with an edge to her voice.

 _Helping her out? I practically carried the majority of the wood_. Aang thought to himself.

"Yeah I helped Toph with the wood." Aang said as he forced a smile.

"Anyway, Twinkle Toes only carried so much while I'm the one that did the majority of the work." Toph said as she was trying to push Aang's buttons.

 _Is Toph trying to make me lose my head on purpose?_ Aang thought to himself.

"Well it was your turn to collect the wood Toph, so I don't see what you're complaining about. In fact, you should be thanking Aang." Katara said as she was acting all motherly again.

 _If only she knew that Twinkle Toes was my personal servant_. Toph thought as she was trying hard not to smile.

"Anyway, now that we have the wood we can have breakfast." Katara said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"Man Sugar Queen you sure know how to cook up a good meal." Toph said as she was rubbing her belly.

"Why Toph are you actually giving me a compliment?" Katara said as she feigned being in shock.

"Take it how you want Sugar Queen. Man whoever marries you is gonna be one lucky guy. Better not mess it up Sugar Queen." Toph said as she was trying to get a reaction from her.

"Toph!" Katara called her as she was madly blushing. Toph felt Katara's muscles stiffen by her comment.

"Anyway, Aang I believe we should continue your training seeing as we don't have much time before we start our attack on the fire nation." Sokka cut in as to change the subject.

"Yeah that sounds like a plan." Aang replied.

Just as they were speaking of fire nation Zuko showed up.

"Hey guys.' Zuko said.

Everyone guarded up planning to attack the fire prince.

"What are you doing here." Katara asked very irritated.

"Well I overheard your conversation and I can teach Aang some firebending." Zuko said.

"Why would we ever consider that?" Sokka asked.

"Well you need someone to teach Aang firebending and I'm the only one that can teach him that." Zuko said.

"Guys whether you like it or not, we're going to have to find you a firebending teacher. And I don't see a better candidate to do the job." Toph said.

"No way. I'd rather learn by myself." Aang said.

"And how are you gonna do that Aang? You barely know anything about firebending. Much less apply it." Zuko said.

"Don't worry we'll teach him." Katara spoke up.

"None of you are firebenders. Look I'm trying to help you guys. Why are you denying my offer?" Zuko asked.

"We trusted you once and you betrayed us." Sokka said.

"I know I've done a lot of mistakes in my past, but I've changed." Zuko said.

"Haven't heard that one before." Katara said.

"Please believe me." Zuko pleaded.

Aang walked up to him. He saw the regret in his eyes. He knew that he wasn't lying, but he's hurt his comrades too much for him to believe Zuko.

"I'm sorry Zuko. You've hurt my comrades way too much for me to believe you. I'm asking you to please leave." Aang said,

 _ **A Few Days Later.**_

After all the arguing the fire prince and Aang's group have had they finally decided to put their trust in the fire prince. Zuko and Aang finally managed to figure firebending to its full potential. Zuko finally finished teaching Aang the basics. However, Aang wasn't the only one in need of help. Sokka needed to rescue his dad and he needed the help of a certain fire prince.

"Well, I have to go help Sokka so I'll be seeing you later." Katara read off the letter Zuko left. "Seeing as you have a lot of energy to spare, Toph why don't you help Aang hone his earthbending." Katara said.

"Yeah alright whatever Sugar Queen." Toph said.

"Would you drop it with the nicknames Toph?!" Katara said as she was getting annoyed.

"Sorry no can do. Anyway, let's get going Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she wavered at Aang.

"Are we going to the same spot as last time?" Aang asked.

"Yeah we are." Toph said.

"We'll be seeing you guys later. Oh Sugar Queen I have one last thing to tell you." Toph said

"What is it Toph?" Katara asked.

"Well if we don't come back by the end of the day don't come looking for us." Toph said.

"You sure Toph?" Katara asked.

"Yeah don't worry Sugar Queen. Twinkle Toes is in good hands." Toph reassured.

"Well don't do anything dumb alright Toph." Katara said.

"I won't Sugar Queen. Anyway see ya later." Toph said

"Yeah see you guys later." Katara said

 **XXXXXXXX**

"Alright Twinkle Toes let's get started with your training." Toph said in a commanding tone. "Yes ma'am!" Aang said as he saluted.

'That's more like it Twinkles." Toph said.

"So what are you train me on today?" Aang asked.

"Alright make a giant boulder Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Alright now what?" Aang said as he was catching his breath.

"You see that mountain I want you to carry up that mountain 10 times up and down." Toph said as she pointed at the mountain.

"Wait you actually want me to carry this gigantic boulder up a mountain?" Aang asked in shock.

"Yeah you got a problem like that Twinkle Toes?!" Toph questioned in anger.

"Well whatever helps me improve on my earthbending." Aang said as he started carrying the boulder.

"That's more like it Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang was walking up the mountain with Toph following every step of the way. Aang kept walking with the boulder on his back. Midway through the mountain, he stopped and held the boulder for a bit.

"What you're giving up already Twinkle Toes?!" Toph said as she noticed.

"No way in hell. I'm just getting started." Aang said as he forced a smile at Toph.

"Yeah that better be the case. I didn't train a quitter." Toph said as she smirked at Aang. He kept walking up the mountain, but was sweating and blood was starting to show on his hands.

 _I have to keep going no matter what_. Aang thought to himself.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang reached the top of the mountain in half an hour. Aang dropped the boulder to the side and fell on his back.

"Well it sure took you a while Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Well I mean I did have to carry a boulder up a mountain." Aang said as he was too tired to argue.

"Well you still have to finish the rest of the training Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yeah I know Toph." Aang said as he was getting up on his feet again.

"Well I'll be waiting here for you Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she sat down on a rock.

"Heh, you won't have to wake that long Toph." Aang said as he gave Toph a face of determination.

"It took you an hour to get up here Twinkle Toes. It's gonna be at least a few hours to get done." Toph said.

"Well anyway I got to finish my training. So see ya later Toph." Aang said as he picked up the boulder.

"See ya later Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she wavered at Aang. He was walking down the mountain when he realized that there were some pillars in his way.

 _I'm guessing this must be Toph's doing_. Aang thought. He went around them with a heavy amount of difficulty and kept at it until he reached the bottom of the mountain.

 **XXXXXXXX**

12 hours later. Aang was on his last lap. Aang was having trouble with his body responding to his commands.

 _I've got to keep going. I've got to keep going. I've got to keep going. I've got to... because I'm the Avatar and all these people relying on me to defeat Ozai_. Aang thought to himself as he was internalizing his pain. He kept at it as he was almost there. He was on the verge of finishing he only had 20 feet to go. Aang fell onto his left knee and was starting to lose consciousness. He was already in tears He was sweating so hard that his outfit was drenched. His hand was full of blisters and it was gushing out blood from his fingers. Toph felt Aang's pulse drastically slowing down and rushed to Aang's side.

"Twinkle Toes you can stop now. Otherwise, you're gonna end up killing yourself!" Toph shouted as she was approaching Aang.

Aang kept quiet and kept going. Toph could feel Aang's emotions from the vibrations he was giving off.

 _Rage, regrets, and wishes._ Toph thought to herself.

"You don't listen do ya? I told you to stop Aang." Toph said

"Sorry no can do Toph. There's no way in hell I'm going to give up. I'm gonna keep going, I'm gonna fight like there's no tomorrow. I've got too much on the line. If I can't finish this there's no way I can call myself the Avatar much less look at others who call me the Avatar. I can't ignore those that are relying on me. I ran away before and let my people get destroyed by the fire nation. I'm not going to run away again." Aang said as he felt himself slowly fading.

"Alright do what you have to do Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang kept walking up the mountain a trail of blood leading all the way to Aang. He was staggering all the way until he finally reached the top of the mountain.

"Alright I made it to the—" Aang stopped midway through his sentence as he passed out and landed on his back.

"Well looks like you're totally out of it." Toph said as she built an earth tent over Aang so he can get his energy.

 _Well I better go get some wood since I can't bring him back like this. Sugar Queen would literally kill me. I better hurry up so I can cook something for Twinkle Toes and I_. Toph thought to herself as she starting making her way down the mountain.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph was in the forest collecting wood and food Aang and herself.

 _Oh that's right I better collect some fruits for Twinkle Toes since he's a vegetarian_. Toph thought to herself. She was in the middle of finishing up but decided to keep on collecting wood.

 _That Twinkle Toes what was he thinking continuing to keep on going even in his state. He even disobeyed my orders! That's a first for Twinkle Toes. I know I told him that he shouldn't give up on anything, but he took it to the extreme_.

"Ugh. I better get out of here before I think of something else." Toph said as she was getting frustrated with herself.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph reached back to the top of the mountain and noticed Aang was still recuperating.

 _Well I better get started with dinner otherwise I'm gonna starve and Twinkle Toes isn't gonna recover his energy_. Toph thought to herself as she started the fire and started cooking dinner. She burned herself once or twice while cooking.

 _You see this is the kind of stupid things I have to put up with Twinkle Toes. You should've stopped when I told you to. Then, I wouldn't have gotten into this mess._ Toph thought as she was getting annoyed with cooking dinner.

 _But you didn't give up. No matter what you didn't give up. You never cease to amaze me Twinkle Toes. I'm glad you were my first friend_. Toph thought as she smiled to herself.

"Great now I have all these sides of myself that I never knew existed. Now that I've seen them to deal with them!" Toph said out loud.

 _Well I'm almost done with dinner, so I better wrap things up_. Toph thought to herself.

10 minutes later Toph was finished cooking dinner.

 _Time to wake up Twinkle Toes_. Toph thought. She went and made a bowl with her earthbending and filled it with water and threw it in Aang's face.

"Wake up Twinkle Toes!" Toph shouted as she finished dropping water on Aang's face.

"What?! What's going on Toph?!" Aang said as he shot up from his nap.

"Dinner's ready Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she held out a bowl of food for Aang.

"Wait you actually cooked dinner for me? Since when do you know how to cook Toph?" Aang asked.

"Well to answer your first question it's the least I can do since you worked your butt off and second, I'm pretty sure you forgot that I come from a well-known family so naturally, my parents wanted me to learn the essentials of becoming a promising wife." Toph said.

 _I don't have the time to waste on a boy_. Aang was remembering how Toph doesn't want to waste her time on boys.

"I could've sworn you said that you don't have the time to waste on a boy." Aang said.

"Yeah I only did it to get my parents to stop nagging me, but either way it ended up working out for me." Toph said.

"How do you figure?" Aang asked in confusion.

"Well for starters I get to cook for myself whenever I want. Second, I can help anyone cook if needed." Toph said in satisfaction.

"Toph you expect me to believe your second point?" Aang said as he was trying to hold in his laughter.

"Yeah why shouldn't you believe me?!" Toph shouted at Aang.

"Well because I have never seen you offer help to anyone." Aang said.

"Shows what you know Twinkle Toes. I'll have you know that I help out a lot of people." Toph said.

"Is that so? Name one person that you actually offer to cook for." Aang said as he knew Toph couldn't think of a person. "

Well if you want to name one person I can think of, it's you." Toph said.

 _Monkey feathers I forgot that she made dinner for me without asking._ Aang thought as he mentally slapped himself.

"Point proven Toph." Aang said as he admitted defeat.

"Honestly, you shouldn't make assumptions about people Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she sighed.

"So this isn't some kind of joke. This isn't poisoned?" Aang asked.

"Think carefully Twinkle Toes if I wanted to get rid of you I wouldn't do it in such a quiet manner." Toph said as she gave a sly grin at Aang.

"At least I know you won't kill me without announcing yourself." Aang said with a smile.

"Anyway eat up or my hard work is gonna go to waste." Toph said.

"Yeah you're right Toph. I have to get my energy back so I can keep training tomorrow." Aang said as he smiled at Toph.

"That's right. That's what I like to hear from my student." Toph said with pride.

"Hey Toph can I ask you a question?" Aang asked.

"You already did Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Well except that one." Aang said as he was trying to keep calm from Toph's smart mouth.

"What is it? You're not doubting yourself again are you?" Toph asked.

"That's not it." Aang said.

"So then what is it Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"How come I had to do that training exercise?" Aang said with curiosity.

"Well because for one: you improve in physical strength and two: so you could grasp and understand what it's like to be an earthbender." Toph said.

"You expect me to believe that you carried boulders up mountains to master earthbending?" Aang asked with suspicion.

"There are various types of training methods, but I feel like this training exercise is better suited for you." Toph said with a smile.

 _Yeah right she just probably wants me to suffer._ Aang thought to himself.

"Well anyway, I'm starving already." Aang said as he picked up the bowl but put it down immediately before he might drop it.

"What is it? Is it my cooking?" Toph asked with an edge in her voice.

"No, it's not that. I bet your cooking is really good it's just my arms and hands are still in pain from all the training. Sorry." Aang said.

"Ughhh….. Why do you have to make this more difficult than what it is Twinkle Toes?" Toph said as she was clearly getting mad.

"Hey it's not my fault you gave me that training." Aang said.

"Oh so now it's my fault that I have to train you so harshly because your earthbending sucks!" Toph said as she was blowing a fuse.

"Yeah yeah at least now my earthbending is drastically improving because of you. So thanks." Aang said as he smiled at Toph.

"Yeah whatever Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she was blushing.

 _Ughhh.. I know I'm gonna regret this._ Toph thought to herself.

"Alright Twinkle Toes I'm only going to do this once. So I'm going to feed you your food." Toph said.

"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but I don't want you to waste your time on me. I'll do it myself." Aang said as he smiled at Toph.

"No way Twinkle Toes you have to do what I say remember?" Toph said at Aang.

"Well at least let me try first ok?" Aang asked.

"Alright then." Toph replied. Aang was trying relentlessly to pick up his plate but just like the time before he was successful.

 _I'm not getting anywhere so I might as well let her do what she wants._ Aang thought to himself.

"Fine Toph do what you want." Aang said.

"Alright Twinkle Toes open your mouth and say 'Ah'." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Once they finished dinner they decided to clean up and then get ready for bed.

"Toph I'm going to leave the fire on so we won't freeze." Aang said as he looked at Toph.

"Whatever works for you Twinkle Toes. Alright so we're gonna share a tent since the rest of the group hasn't arrived yet." Toph said.

"Yeah yeah whatever makes you happy Toph." Aang replied as he was getting sleepy.

"This isn't making me happy in the slightest Twinkle Toes. The only reason I'm doing this is because it's cold right now and I don't want my pupil to get sick." Toph said.

"Well then, let's go to sleep already." Aang said. Once they went inside the tent Toph fell asleep immediately. She didn't even do much of anything how did she fall asleep so fast? Aang thought to himself.

"Thanks for cooking and feeding dinner to me Toph." Aang whispered at Toph.

"What are friends for Twinkle Toes?" Toph mumbled at Aang. He was a little surprised because he thought Toph was asleep. Well better get some sleep. Aang thought until he felt Toph's body getting closer to him.

 _What is it with her and getting close to me?_ Aang thought.

"Please Aang don't leave me behind." Toph said in her sleep.

"Don't worry Toph I'll never leave your side. I'll stick to your side until the day I die." Aang whispered in Toph's ear.

"Thank you, Aang." Toph said as she grew a small smile on her face as she cuddled closer to Aang.

 _She's very weird in her sleep. Better not tell her that or she'll kill me._ Aang soon drifted off to sleep as well.

 **A/N: First, this is the edited version of the first chapter. I noticed there were some mess ups and I finally got to fix them. Second, I know I'm late to all of this. Give or take 10 years. But, to be honest with you I have never seen or much less heard of ATLA until last week. So naturally, I binge watched the show and it only took me about less than half a week to do so. One ship that I happened to like was TAANG. I don't know why, but it caught my attention. Oh and by the way there might be some references said by some of the characters. If you figure them out you get a cookie. Anyway I'll update every ten days or so. If you happen to have stumbled on this story please let me know what was good and not so good about this chapter or story in general. I'll accept any type of criticism. Thanks again for actually reading this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright guys here's the second chapter of my ATLA story. I know it took me longer to update this chapter. If you read the end of this chapter I'll explain as to why it took me so long to update.**

 **Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

 **"** Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike.**

 _Chapter 2: Twilight_

Toph was the first to wake up, which was a surprise since she's not known for waking up so early. She felt warm and comfortable. She moved her head to and noticed that she was cuddling with Aang.

"Why does this keep HAPPENING?!" Toph shouted as she was really getting annoyed at the fact that she always wakes up in Aang's arms.

"I wonder which one of us is the one that starts snuggling." Toph said as was trying to go back to sleep. However, Toph's brain had other plans.

"Well, I'm already awake, might as well get my day started." Toph said as she was moving away from Aang. Even though he was asleep he wouldn't let go of Toph as he was snuggling closer to her.

"Let go Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she was blushing by Aang's actions.

Aang smiled. "You're so comfy." Aang mumbled while snuggling with Toph.

"I'm gonna kick your butt when you wake up Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang kept smiling as he still wouldn't let go.

Toph smirked. "Just wait until you find out what you do to me in my sleep."

As Toph was finally released from her comfortable hug she stood up and heard a loud noise and turned her head and saw it was Aang responsible for that noise

 _Well looks like Twinkle Toes is still asleep from yesterday's training._ Toph thought to herself as she heard Aang snoring in his deep slumber.

 _Guess Twinkle Toes and I are still alone. Well we better hurry with his training or Katara's just gonna get on my case_. Toph thought with a slight feeling of dread.

She was beginning to feel a little peckish, but was procrastinating on making food because of her laziness. Then she felt a small vibration. "I better cook some breakfast or else I'm gonna starve to death." Toph said as she heard her stomach rumble.

She was going down the mountain until she felt Aang's vibrations from atop the mountain.

 _Well, looks like someone's about to wake up._ Toph thought as she picked up the pace.

 _Well I guess I can make the same thing I made last night for dinner. Then again, I can always try to make something else for the both of us. Oh,whatever Twinkle Toes isn't a picky eater. So I'll make him a salad that'll make him recover a lot quicker._ Toph thought to herself.

"I wonder if we have enough time to make Twinkle Toe's earthbending strong. I mean, I won't be able to save the little princess." Toph said in a bit of worry.

"Ah what am I worrying about? Twinkle Toes can withstand anything. He has the perseverance and guts to never give up. As far as I can tell those are the key components that make a great and powerful earthbender." Toph said with a smile.

 _Plus you can't fail Twinkle Toes because I'm putting my faith in you._ Toph thought.

 _I wonder what the rest of the team is doing?_ Toph thought to herself. She then noticed she had picked up enough supplies for the both of them.

"Well time to head back."

 **XXXXXXXX**

Once Toph reached to the top of the mountain she set down the supplies and started a fire.

"Well now that I have this fire under control I have to get this food ready or my stomach is gonna eat itself." Toph said as her stomach was loudly growling.

"Well I should make a stew. Then, I'll make a salad for Twinkle Toes so he can regain his energy." Toph said with confidence.

"Let's see what training can I teach him so he can master earthbending a lot quicker than the pace he's at right now. I could take one of his senses and make him rely on taking a hit and destroying earth rather than him jump and evade an attack like an airbender. Yeah I think maybe that'll work." Toph said as she kept pondering at different training methods to improve his skills. "Wait! I got it! I know the perfect training for Twinkle Toes!" Toph shouted in certainty.

She then heard Aang starting to move.

"Oh right. You're still 'resting' your eyes." Toph said quietly.

On normal circumstances Toph couldn't care less if someone was asleep while she was doing her own thing, but these aren't normal circumstances since she has to help the only thing that can save them from destruction.

"Get ready for your training Twinkle Toes because this is going to be fun. Well for me at least." Toph smirked as she hoped Aang could master this training exercise at the drop of a hat. Toph remembered she felt a warm liquid coming from Aang's back and arms until she realized it was his own blood.

 _Wait could his injuries be holding him back right now? The amount of blood I felt yesterday wasn't a little bit in fact the blood must've been all over his body. Hmm... How hard did he push himself yesterday?_ Toph stood up and walked over to Aang and ran her hand over his body. Toph smirked as she was surprised to feel the amount of cuts and blisters she felt over his back and hands.

 _Well Twinkle Toes looks like you're not all talk. I wonder... how much pain did you have to endure throughout your training yesterday?_ She then let go smelled her cooking and she knew her breakfast was ready for Aang and her.

 _Looks like the food is ready for the both of us Twinkle Toes._ She went to go serve the food and was coming back when she felt Aang moving and mumbling non-stop in his sleep. Toph set the food down and stood there and just looked at Aang.

 _I wonder what Twinkle Toes is thinking about?_ Toph thought herself.

 **AVATAR!** A voice busted through Aang's head and noticed that he couldn't move. He was asleep, but at the same time he felt like he was awake.

 _What?! Who is it?_ Aang thought in his sleep.

 **DO YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE YOU CAN DEFEAT THE FIRELORD?!** The voice bellowed at Aang.

 _Of course I can beat him! What makes you think I can't beat him?!_ Aang shouted at the voice coming through his head.

 **YOU CAN'T EVEN OPEN YOUR AVATAR STATE WITHOUT GETTING EMOTIONAL BRAT!** The voice shouted once more at Aang.

 _Oh it's you Kuruk… Yeah so what of it?!_ Aang asked.

 **WHAT OF IT?! IF YOU CAN'T CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS YOU WILL LOSE CONTROL OF YOURSELF AND DESTROY EVERYTHING AND ANYONE WHO GETS IN YOUR WAY!** Kuruk shouted.

 _I know I know, but I'm trying as hard as I can to master the Avatar state!_ Aang shouted to the voice within him.

 **IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE YOU'RE TRYING AT ALL TO ME!** Kuruk wasn't being kind to Aang at all.

 _What do you know about it and why do you care!_ Aang said as he was losing his nerve.

 **You need to control yourself before you do something you might regret.** Kuruk pointed out as he calmed his voice down.

 _Wait so you were just testing me?_ Aang said as he was calming down.

 **Yeah, you can say that.** Kuruk replied.

 _So that's how you know what I have and haven't mastered?_ Aang asked.

 **Of course young one** _ **.**_ Kuruk said.

 _Hey, total different question. If I can control my emotions I can master my Avatar state?_ Aang wondered.

 **Yes. Well, to a certain degree. So I want you to think of a single person who keeps you alive.** Kuruk said.

 _Keeps me alive? What do you mean by that exactly?_ Aang asked in confusion **.**

 **Someone who makes you appreciate every day of your life. Someone you can't live without. Someone who no matter you'd give up anything so you can be with them for the rest of your life.** Kuruk said with a smile on his face.

 _Hmm... I don't think I have anyone like that._ Aang confessed to Kuruk.

 **Not yet at least, Avatar. Once you find that person protect them with your life. If you don't you will face a great amount of pain, suffering, and regret. I don't want to see another Avatar go through all of that again.** Kuruk said with a hint of sorrow.

 _So how will I know who this person is?_ Aang asked.

 **It will be someone you can trust your life with and who will stay by your side no matter the cost.** Kuruk said.

 _Oh, well then is that all you have for me?_ Aang asked.

 **Yes that is all young Avatar.** Kuruk said _._

 _Ok then?_ Aang felt awkward.

 **Yes well anyway it's time for you to wake up. Your companion is waiting for you. Farewell, Avatar.** Kuruk said with a smile.

 _Wait! What? Does he mean Toph?_ Aang groaned at that last thought.

Aang woke with a start and hit his head with an object.

"OWWW! What hit me?" Aang shouted as he rubbed his head in pain. Toph stared at him with disbelief.

"I believe the locals call it a pan? I'm not sure I'll have to check back to you." Toph said.

"Oh, so that's what I hit with my head. Oh and by the way I really didn't need that smart retort Toph." Aang said.

"What can I say? It's my specialty Twinkle Toes." Toph said with a smile.

Aang looked at his surroundings and saw that it was barely the crack of dawn.

"Hey, Toph how come you're up so early? It's barely the crack of dawn." Aang asked.

"It's barely the crack of dawn? I thought it was like in the middle of the afternoon." Toph said in disbelief.

 _No wonder Twinkle Toes was still snoring in his beauty sleep._ Toph thought to herself.

"Anyway, you don't have to answer Toph." Aang said with a smile.

"Well I wasn't going to answer it anyway Twinkle Toes!" Toph said very annoyed.

"So, do you want me to collect some wood for us Toph?" Aang asked as he was beginning to feel hungry.

"No need, I already got the wood for us Twinkle Toes." Toph said with a smile.

"Wait how come? I thought it was my turn to get it." Aang asked.

"Well, it was your turn to get the wood as a matter of fact." Toph said.

"So do you want me to get us some food so you can cook it Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph then pointed at the two bowls next to Aang.

"I already beat you to it Twinkle Toes." Aang turned his head and noticed the two bowls next him and just by looking at food next to him made his stomach growl.

"So you already did everything?" Aang said in amazement.

"Pretty much." Toph said as she shrugged.

"Oh so what's left to do?" Aang questioned.

"Well for starters we're gonna dig into this food that I've made for us. Then, we're gonna get you back to training because we're running on a razor fine line of time as it is right now." Toph said. "Oh so that's why you made breakfast." Aang pointed out.

"Yeah basically. Now hurry up or the food gonna get cold." Toph warned Aang.

"Alright alright I'm going already quit nagging me." Aang said.

They both picked up their plates and started eating in silence enjoying the satisfaction of the meal created by Toph. Aang kept thinking about Kuruk. He also thought about protecting and trusting his life to his 'companion' and he wondered if should he ask Toph, to see if she can help him out with his little dilemma.

Toph kept looking at Aang as if something was on his face. Aang noticed and quickly continued eating.

 _What is he hiding from me? He's only like this when he's keeping a secret from someone._ Toph thought.

She figured if she wanted answers she can't hide around the bushes. She's going to have to confront Aang head on.

"Is there something you're aren't telling me Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked with seriousness in her voice.

"Why do you ask Toph?" Aang asked with shaky voice.

"Because you're only like this when you're hiding something from us." Toph said. Aang sighed and put his food down turning his head towards Toph.

"Well I guess you can read me like a book huh Toph?" Aang said.

"Huh ya think Twinkle Toes? I haven't known you for that long and I can still read your little habits. Now are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?" Toph said that last part whilst raising her fist.

"Alright alright, jeez you need to act a little less violent Toph." Aang said.

"It's who I am Twinkle Toes." Toph said with a smile in her face.

"Alright listen Toph. Can I trust you with my life?" Aang asked with uncertainty.

 _Where is this coming from?_ Toph thought as she raised her eyebrows.

"Of course you can Twinkle Toes. If you have my back I have yours." Toph said with a smile. "How can you be so sure Toph?"Aang said as he gave her a look of worry.

"Well for one you're the Avatar. Second because you were my first friend and no matter what I'll always have your back. You can trust me." Toph said with a carefree smile.

 _Well that answers my question. Now I can calm down._ Aang thought with relief.

"You almost done there Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Yeah I'm almost done with my food. Just give me some time."

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang and Toph cleaned up the mess they did during breakfast and were about to start training.

"So what comes next?" Aang asked.

"Well for starters we're gonna warm you up. I can't have you having a cramp during the middle of your training." Toph said.

 _Wait I have to feel how bruised up he is._ Toph thought. She walked over to Aang and started feeling his arms and back.

"S-o-ooo w-what's with um.. y-y-oou touching me?" Aang stuttered as his face was turning different shades of red.

 _Wait something's not right here._ Toph thought to herself.

"What happened to your bruises Twinkle Toes?" Toph said as she looked up at Aang with confusion.

"What do you mean Toph?" Aang asked.

"The bruises you had around your arms and back." Toph said.

"Eh who knows I heal pretty quickly."

"Well whatever we gotta get started already Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yes ma'am." Aang said as he stood up straight.

"So what am I going to be doing Toph." Aang asked,

"Since you still need work on your earthbending we're gonna take one of your five senses away. Your sight." Toph said.

"Haven't I already done this before?" Aang said. Toph held up her hand.

"Hold your horses Twinkle Toes you didn't let me finish. Anyways, yes it's somewhat like your previous training, but there's something different about it." Toph said

Aang looked at her in confusion.

"So what's different about it Toph?" Aang asked

Toph turned towards Aang and pointed to him.

"You're not gonna move. You're gonna stay still."

Aang stared at her with his mouth agape.

"That's it I just have to stay still and not move. I thought you were about intense training Toph." Toph kept looking at Aang.

"You're gonna stay still because I want you to hear everything around you more carefully. If you're moving non-stop you can't really focus on you're hearing. It's basically like how I do it. You remember right?" Toph asked.

"Yeah I remember. You basically see with your feet." Aang replied.

"Exactly Twinkle Toes. I hear and feel the vibrations that are created by mobile things in nature. That's why I want us to focus on this training exercise because who knows if Ozai blinds you. If your sight is gone you're pretty much a sitting duck. Just in case we'll focus on your other two senses." Toph explained.

"Yeah that makes sense." Aang nodded in agreement.

"Oh by the way before I forget for each time I see you move you get a rock thrown at you by me." Toph grinned.

Aang looked at her. "So, I'm going to get thrown rocks at me for not doing what I'm supposed to do? Is that how this is going to work?" Aang asked

Toph raised her fist. "I believe people listen more with an iron fist!"

Aang just stared at her. "Yeah I figured you'd say something like that. Man, I feel bad for whoever you end up with." Aang mumbled that last part.

"What did you just mumble?" Toph said with an edge to her voice.

"Nothing nothing at all. I just said how excited I am to get my training started." Aang said while scratching the back of his head.

 _If I speak my thoughts out loud Toph's gonna kick my butt and make me her personal training dummy. Lucky for me she can't read or listen to my thoughts_ Aang thought to himself.

Toph walked to the edge of the mountain and turned towards Aang. She wiggled her finger signaling Aang to head towards her. She pointed at the edge of the mountain.

"This is where you're gonna sit. Remember if I throw so many rocks you're gonna fall and you might possibly die. With that said let's get started with part two of your training" Aang smiled nervously at Toph.

"Yeah let's go." He knew that this wasn't going to end well.

Toph looked at Aang "Sit down as if you were meditating, but don't meditate because you might head into the spirit world and that might turn out to be a mess." Aang looked at her with a confused look.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Toph then face palmed as she called herself an idiot.

"I forgot to tell you this Twinkle Toes. I'm gonna be moving around and you're gonna point to where I'm at. Get it wrong and you get a rock thrown at you." He just looked at her in disbelief.

"Is there anything else you're forgetting oh great master earthbender." Toph turned away.

'Tsk. No I'm not forgetting anything else now shut up."

So Aang sat at the edge of the mountain in a meditation position. He felt confident about his training at first.

 _Come on, Toph wouldn't give me a training exercise without something that'll give me a hard time or even worse a near death experience._ Aang thought to himself. He felt a rock hit his chest. "You're not supposed to move Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she smirked.

She liked messing around with Aang. Especially, when she was training him. Aang on the other hand was at a disadvantage. He couldn't scream because that would make him move and thus, resulting in him falling off the mountain. So he had no other choice but to endure the pain. He tried emptying out his mind but he lost concentration right away. Toph threw another rock at his chest.

"Focus Twinkle Toes. Just be one with nature. I thought this would be easier for you seeing as how you're the Avatar and everything." Toph said. Aang tried again.

 _Be one with nature? What is she talking about?_ Toph kept feeling Aang's vibrations.

 _He's moving too much. How could I get him to understand to not move so much? Maybe some analogies might work._

"Hey Twinkle Toes don't think about moving. Creatures like us must learn to stay still. If you wanna improve on staying still just pretend you're dead." Aang couldn't say anything because that'll lead him to lose control.

 _She wants me to pretend to be dead. How will that work exactly?_ Aang thought.

 _Alright focus. You have to focus._ Toph threw another rock, but this time in his arm.

 _At least he's not moving as much as before._

"You're slightly getting better Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

 _Hey at least I'm improving a little._ Aang thought in satisfaction.

 _Alright, if I can keep at it I can merge in with nature I can exponentiate my hearing and tactile senses._ Toph kept feeling Aang's vibrations.

 _Even though he's improving it's sure gonna be a long time before he can grasp it._

 **XXXXXXXX**

It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun wasn't being merciful. Toph and Aang were both getting burned by the sun. Both of them sweating like stuffed pigs. Toph's arm was getting tired from throwing rocks at Aang. Aang on the other hand was in so much pain.

His chest was red and anyone could notice the amount of blood that was pouring out of him.

 _Well, I think Twinkle Toes has mastered staying still and being one with nature._ _I never thought I'd see the day when I'd get tired of having fun with Twinkle Toes._ Toph thought to herself in satisfaction. Aang finally felt one with nature. Normally he'd be screaming and aching in pain, but he couldn't feel any of that.

 _What's with this warm feeling? I feel like my pain is being lifted off of my shoulders.? I guess this is another part with being one with nature._ Toph walked towards Aang.

"So Twinkle Toes, now do you know what it feels like to be calm and focused?" Aang opened his eyes and smiled at Toph.

"Yeah I feel warm inside after doing all of this concentrating and focusing. So now that I've improved my two senses what comes next?" Toph smiled at Aang.

"Well, we're gonna see how good you are with understanding where everything is located. It's like our previous training. I'm gonna throw a rock at you and you're gonna try to deflect it back. Except this time you're not gonna have to put on a blindfold like last time." Aang remembered the time he had that kind of training with Toph. It wasn't the prettiest of results.

"So what happens if I don't sense what you throw at me?" Aang asked.

"We'll for one thing you'll be a disappointment. Second, your face won't look so pretty." Toph replied.

"But Toph you don't even know what I look like." Aang countered.

"Yeah so? You're still not gonna look good afterwards." Toph said.

"Hey Toph can I finally move off the edge of the mountain or else I'm going to fall off." Aang said.

"Almost Twinkle Toes. Just wait." Toph said.

While she walked away from Aang an idea popped into her head.

"Hey Twinkle Toes do you know how to make an Avatar fly?" Toph said.

"No... why Toph?" Aang asked in confusion.

"No reason just wondering." Toph said acting innocently.

 _Wait could she be doing what I she is?_ Aang thought to himself.

He was about to ask Toph, but it was too late. She knew where Aang's position was and she stomped her foot on the ground and a pillar popped up where Aang was sitting. Aang was launched into the air.

"TOPH YOU DAUGHTER OF A BAS-" Aang's voice drifted into the wind as he was sent off far away from where they were.

"Oh, Twinkle Toes how could you ever just leave in the middle of training after all I did for you." Toph said as she feigned being hurt by Aang's actions.

 _Time to go find the little airhead._ Toph thought to herself as she smirked.

 **XXXXXXXX**

After walking for what seemed like forever she finally found Aang stuck on a tree that was close to a lake. Toph put her hands up to her hips.

"How dare you just walk out of training like that. After all I did for you, and I find you asleep after ditching training?" She said while feigning anger. Aang kept dangling as he was struggling to get out of the tree.

 _Why why did she have to be my trainer? She's the embodiment of the devil herself._ Aang thought as he was crying on the inside.

"What do you mean ditch training, Toph? I freakin' received a trip to the moon thanks to you. Ditching practice please if I had a choice I would've ditched long ago. But since I have to defeat a certain nation and a certain Fire Lord I don't have much of an option now do I?" Aang said as his composure was surely slipping.

Toph looked at him in shock. "If you don't want me here then why don't you say it already?" Toph said.

Aang kept struggling but finally fell off the tree and landed on his head.

"I didn't say that all." Aang said as he rubbed his head in pain.

"Then, what Twinkle Toes? DO YOU NEED ME HERE?" Toph said as she put her arms on her hips.

"OF COURSE I NEED YOU TOPH." Aang shouted back at Toph.

"THEN WHY DO YOU NEED ME HERE?" Toph said as she clearly lost her patience.

"WELL BECAUSE OF YOUR TRAINING… AND YOUR COOKING." Aang shouted.

"WHAT ABOUT MY COOKING?" Toph was ready to beat the living crap out of Aang.

"IT'S THE MOST DELICIOUS THING I'VE EATEN." Aang said as he rubbed his stomach.

"Is that right Twinkle Toes?" Toph said as she calmed down.

"Yeah your cooking is the best thing ever. It even beats Katara's cooking just don't tell her I said that." Aang smiled at Toph.

"Who knows? Maybe it'll slip out of my tongue." Toph stuck out her tongue at Aang.

"Yeah, I thought as much." Aang said sheepishly.

"Oh and Toph what's with giving me a trip to the moon?." Aang asked.

"Well now that you asked Twinkle Toes this is your new training spot." Toph said.

"Hold on if you knew that this was going to be my new training site. Then why didn't you just tell me where it was instead of receiving with that surprising trip to the moon?" Aang asked clearly annoyed by Toph's actions.

"Actually, I didn't plan ahead and this is your training spot for now." Toph shrugged it off.

"Wow, so you're winging it." Aang said.

Toph smiled. "Yup."

"Great excuse." Aang sarcastically noted.

"Glad you see that as well Twinkle Toes." Toph smiled.

Aang looked around. "Wait you said that this was my new training site, but you didn't specify as to where exactly."

Toph pointed at the water."Right there Twinkle Toes."

Aang walked over to the water. "What am I learning to take a bath or something?" Aang sarcastically asked.

"Not exactly Twinkle Toes. You're basically doing what you did at the top of the mountain." Toph said.

"For what reason. If I already did it at the top of the mountain then why do it in a different location?" Aang pointed out.

Toph face palmed and walked towards Aang. She pointed at the water again. Aang turned around to see what Toph was pointing at. Just as he turned around Toph punched his head.

"WHY DON'T YOU WAIT UNTIL I FINISH YOU AIRHEAD?" Toph shouted.

"OWW… okay I'm sorry jeez. Do you always have to be like that Toph?" Aang asked.

"Well unless you don't listen. Anyway, to answer your question. The reason your training in water is simple. I want you in it because the water distorts you tactile and auditory senses. While you were on land you could pretty much see and hear anything with those two senses. But when you're inside the water you can't really get a sense of anything and if we can get you strengthen those two senses you're pretty much a powerhouse. Just like your teacher might I add." Toph grinned at that last part.

"But I'm not going to fight on water. I'm going up against the Fire Lord. I don't think he's stupid enough to get near water because of my waterbending." Aang pointed out.

"I'm not making you do this because you're gonna fight on water. Of course I know that the Fire Lord isn't going to get near water. Like I said before if you listened, which apparently you didn't, I'm making you do this because I'm trying to drastically improve your audible and tactile senses." Toph said.

"Ok... so you just want me to sit in the water that's it?" Aang asked.

"Not just that Twinkle Toes. I'm gonna throw various objects towards you. I want you to stop or destroy them. Well, that's your choice. Point is, I don't want you to try to dodge it. If you stop or destroy it that's great and if you don't... well that's great as well." Toph said.

"Wait, how is it great if I don't stop it?" Aang asked.

"Well, because you get hit and you'll probably learn your lesson." Toph smiled at Aang.

"Anyway, let's cut the chit-chat Twinkle Toes. Sit or stand in the water I don't care. Let's begin part three of your training."

Toph was at the edge of lake sensing Aang. "Alright Twinkle Toes I'm gonna wait a little and then I'm gonna throw objects at you." Toph said.

"Yeah, do what you have to do Toph." Aang said.

"I'm not doing this because of me. I'm waiting because it's gonna take you a while to focus." Toph said.

Aang sat in the water focusing.

 _Yeah, Toph's right. It's taking a little longer to get this right._ Aang thought to himself.

Toph kept still looking down on the ground.

 _Let's see it took Twinkle Toes about five minutes to focus on the top of the mountain. Now that he mastered it on land it'll probably take about two to three minutes so he can actually focus._ Toph pondered. She walked back and forth kicking a rock.

She finally got tired of waiting.

 _The two minutes should've passed already. Let's get started._ Toph smirked at that last part.

She felt Aang, but barely he was so still that she couldn't feel his vibrations. She picked up a rock with her foot and threw it to her hand. She aimed at Aang and threw in one swift motion. Aang felt something.

 _Alright she threw it. If I can time it perfectly I can throw it back at her. She said to stop or destroy it, but if Toph doesn't follow the rules then why should I?_

Aang smirked to himself. As Toph threw the rock he lost the location of the rock.

 _CRAP. WHERE DID IT GO?_ Aang started to panic. Just as he started to panic the rock made it to it's destination.

 _OWW. HOW DID I LET IT HIT ME?_ Aang inwardly scolded himself.

Meanwhile, Toph just face palmed as she took a mental image of what just happened between the Avatar and a mere rock.

 _Oh for crying out loud Twinkle Toes. You had one job, one job and you get defeated by a rock. This is gonna be the rest of my day isn't._

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph finally pleased with Aang's results decided to sit down.

"You can get out of the water now Twinkle Toes." Toph said. Aang on the other hand was aching all over his body. Blood soaking his face and chest. Toph had a few bruises from Aang throwing the rocks back at her.

"Well it took you awhile, but at least you've hit the tip of the iceberg Twinkle Toes." Toph said. Aang's mouth dropped. "WAIT WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

Toph put her fingers in her ears. "Jeez settle down Twinkle Toes. It'll be enough to beat the fire lord." Toph said.

"Oh well in that case are we done with my training for today?" Aang asked.

"Yeah we're done with training for today." Toph replied. Aang looked and saw the moon.

"Toph, I'm pretty sure it's around midnight. Why couldn't we have ended my training much earlier?" Toph put her hands around waist.

"Because you needed that time to train. Honestly, if this wasn't important I would've hit the sack awhile ago." Toph said.

"So what now Toph? Aang asked.

"Well first we can wash up." Toph said.

"Wait?! Both of us at the same time?!" Aang said as his face was turning different shades of red.

"Yeah sure why not?" Toph said.

It was physically impossible, but somehow Aang's face got redder. "Are you serious?"

"OF COURSE NOT YOU IDIOT." Toph said as her face turned red as well.

"Yeah of course what kind of idiot would think of that?" Aang just continued to ramble.

"Anyway Twinkle Toes who's taking a bath first." Toph asked.

"You should take it first since you trained me Toph. I'll go get the wood so I can a fire started. I'll meet you back at the mountain. Sound like a plan?" Aang said.

"Do we have to go back there? I'd rather just camp out around here." Toph complained.

"Fine whatever. Point is you take bath and I get wood. Sound good?" Aang asked.

"Yeah sure. Now get out of here… that is unless you want to see me naked?' Toph teased.

"And I'm gone." Aang left running.

"Yeah see ya later Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Toph laughed loudly. "Oh man, it's so much fun making him look like that."

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang was in the middle of picking up wood when he received some company.

 **AVATAR!** Kuruk shouted.

 _What do you want Kuruk I'm in the middle of something._ Aang said.

 **Tell me Avatar have you found that special someone already?** Kuruk asked.

 _No, not yet._ Aang replied.

 **Avatar let me ask you something.** His conscious said.

 _What is it?_ Aang said.

 **When you find this special person you're going to protect them right?** Kuruk said.

 _Right? That depends if I find this person. Anyway what's your point?_ Aang asked.

 **The person you love or the rest of the world?** Kuruk asked.

 _Wait what do you mean by that?_ Aang asked.

 **If a situation came to in which you were given a choice. To sacrifice the person you love and have the rest of the world destroyed. Or save the world and sacrifice the person you love. Which is it?** Kuruk asked.

 _I don't know. I don't know at all._ Aang said.

 **Maybe not yet. Think it through you Avatar.** Kuruk said.

With that he left his thoughts. Aang dropped the wood and stood there thinking.

 _The person I love or the rest of the world?_ Aang thought to himself.

He stood there for a while until he remembered that he was keeping Toph waiting.

 _Better head back_. Aang thought as he picked up the wood

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang was walking back and noticed that Toph wasn't in the lake.

"I wonder where Toph's at?" Aang said.

"I'm right over here Twinkle Toes." Toph waved her hand.

"Oh sorry I didn't see you there." Aang walked over to where Toph was.

"You took longer than 10 minutes Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Oh sorry Toph. I got lost on the path of life." Aang rubbed his head.

"Path of life huh? You really need to work on your excuses Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Anyway what are you over here Toph?" Aang asked

"Well while you were taking your sweet time doing whatever I decided to go get us some food." Toph said.

"Man have I told you that you're the best Toph." Aang said overjoyed

"You could stand to mention it more." Toph smirked.

"Man, I must've taken a while if that's the case." Aang said.

"Yeah, you did. Now bring that wood over here and start the fire so I can get this cooking over with." Toph said.

"Why are you in such a rush Toph?" Aang asked.

"Well because I'm pretty sure it's past midnight." Toph said.

"Wait how do you know Toph?" Aang asked as he was amazed as to how Toph figured out the time.

"Well for one I can hear the crickets off in the distance and also we're not far from the ocean if you couldn't tell. So, the waves are moving restlessly and they only move like that when the moon is high up above us." Toph said.

"Toph you mean to tell me you did all that in 20 minutes?" Aang asked.

"Hey when as an earthbender I can pretty much do anything." Toph said.

"Anything except for curing your distaste for flying on top of Appa." Aang laughed.

"Is that so _Aang_? I guess you want to be left starving to death." Toph put a lot of emphasis on Aang's name.

He flinched when she said his name. Normally she'd call him that when she was serious or when she was losing her cool. Albeit, being the latter of the two.

"No I was just kidding Toph. Come on we're good buddies I thought you would've laughed or share a few chuckles." Aang said.

"Well whatever Twinkle Toes give me a bit time and the food will be ready." Toph said.

"You're not going to poison my food are you Toph? Aang worryingly asked.

"That all depends on my mood Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

 _Wait I've heard about this from Sokka. Females go through some little swings during some time of the month. I better be nice or who knows if I wake up tomorrow._ Aang thought to himself as little droplets of sweat rolled off of his face.

"Hey Twinkle Toes." Toph called out.

"What is it Toph?" Aang asked.

"Why don't you go on ahead and wash yourself off and by the time you come back I should be done cooking for us." Toph said.

"Yeah that sounds good Toph. I'll be right back." Aang waved at Toph.

"Yeah whatever Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang felt like a new person after all of that. He walked back to camp and noticed that Toph was putting the food on a earth bowl she made.

"You sure took your sweet time Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"It only took me like 15 minutes Toph." Aang said.

Toph walked over to him and handed his bowl.

"Here's your food Twinkle Toes. Eat it or it's gonna get cold." Toph said.

"Thanks for the food Toph." Aang said.

"Hey what are friends for." Toph said.

"So Toph is this training enough to beat the Fire Lord?" Aang asked.

"Of course it is. To be perfectly honest with you, I believe that you can defeat the Fire Lord with minimum Earth bending skills. I think your willpower can get you through fight alone. Since you need an earthbending teacher I came along. I wanted to tag along not because of that, but because I wanted to be free. I'd rather teach you earthbending than to live back home." Toph said.

"Well who knew I'd get some compliments from you Toph." Aang said.

"Take it how you want Twinkle Toes." Toph said while eating.

"Well that makes me a little better I guess," Aang said.

"You do your part in beating the Fire Lord and we'll do our part to stop the Fire Nation Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Hey Toph total different question." Aang said.

"What is it Twinkle Toes?" Toph said.

"Have you noticed that one of us wakes with the other in their arms? Aang asked.

"Yeah so?" Toph said.

 _How is she not acting different from all this._ Aang thought to himself.

"Does it bother you Toph?" Aang asked.

"Who knows apparently this happens while we're asleep so I really don't care." Toph said.

"Oh ok well that makes sense." Aang said.

"Yeah it does. Now let's clean up and get some sleep Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yeah we should. I'm getting tired." Aang said.

Toph destroyed her earth bowls and got tent ready in seconds.

"Tent's ready Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yeah coming. Should I leave the fire on Toph?" Aang asked.

"Leave it. It's gonna get cold anyway." Toph said.

Aang left the fire on and went inside the tent and got next to Toph.

"See ya in the morning Toph." Aang said.

"Yeah you too Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Five minutes into his sleep Toph poked him.

"Hey Twinkle Toes are you awake?" Toph asked.

Aang sat up. "I am now. What's up Toph?" Aang asked.

"The sky." Toph replied.

"Goodnight Toph." Aang said.

"No wait Twinkle Toes I was just kidding. I can't get some sleep." Toph said.

"Well I guess I'll tell you a story." Aang said.

"Yeah whatever works Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Alright Toph. Once upon a time there was this boy who was alone and he had his own pet. He abandoned his tribe because of certain problem. He walked for what seem forever. Until he met this girl. But she wasn't any ordinary girl. She was the type of girl that drove him mad and he couldn't stand there. Then one day she got lost. The boy looked all over for her for hours. People just told him that he should just stop. He was wasting his time. He kept calling out to her. Then she heard him calling her and she followed his voice and finally found her way again." Aang said.

"What happens next?" Toph said.

"That's up to you to decide." Aang said.

 _Up to me to decide huh?_ Toph thought as she fell asleep.

"Goodnight Toph." Aang smiled.

He himself was falling asleep with one final thought.

 _The one I love or the rest of the world._ Aang thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep

 **A/N: Okay so this is the edited version of the second chapter. I'm stuck in a crossroad of editing this so yeah…. Oh and by the way there's some references of other shows/anime if you can find them you get a cookie:))) If you happen to have stumbled on this story please let me know what was good and not so good about this chapter. I'll accept any type of criticism. Thanks again for actually reading this. I appreciate everything guys**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright guys here's the third chapter of my ATLA story. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.**

 **Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

 **"** Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 3: Home_

"What happens next?" Toph said.

"That's up to you to decide." Aang said.

"Up to me to decide huh? Toph thought as she fell asleep.

"Goodnight Toph." Aang smiled.

 _ **2 Days Later.**_

After that event Aang and Toph trained the next day non-stop. The following day Toph decided to take their training a little more calm. Toph sat up and felt Aang's vibrations. She scratched her head.

 _So he's awake already? Why is he training so early?_

Aang was practicing on his balance. He stood up on one foot on top of a rock.

 _Man I've only been doing this for 15 minutes and it's still not enough. FOCUS AANG FOCUS. DON'T LET ANYTHING DISTRACT YOU._ Aang mentally screamed at himself.

Toph stood up and walked over to Aang.

'HEY WATCHA DOING THERE TWINKLE TOES?" Toph shouted.

Aang lost complete focus and his balance as well leading him to eat dirt.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT TOPH? THE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING AND I HAVE TO EAT DIRT?" Aang shouted.

Toph put her hands on her ears."Well isn't someone sensitive this early in the morning. Wait don't tell me Twinkle Toes.. It's that time of the month for you?" Toph teased Aang.

"Um? What are you talking about Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph face palmed. "Never mind Twinkle Toes just forget it."

Aang walked over to Toph.

"So Toph what are we going to be doing today for my training?" Aang asked.

"Eh I'm too tired and I think we've gone through every training exercise that'll help you out. As far as I know I think we're done with your training. We're just gonna do a few small exercises " Toph shrugged.

"Wait so we're not doing anything today?" Aang asked.

"Hold your heinie Twinkle Toes. I never said that we're not doing anything. I said we're doing a _**FEW**_ training exercises. I didn't say we're not doing anything." Toph said.

"That's pretty much a walk in the park Toph." Aang said.

"Oh someone's getting a little cocky. Just because you can keep up with my training exercises doesn't mean squat. As far as I can tell you're just a rookie." Toph said.

"Toph just let me have this. You know I have an extremely fragile ego." Aang moped. "Awww… Does the poor Avatar need a tissue because I poked fun at your extremely fragile ego?" Toph said.

"Forget it Toph." Aang said.

"You know, Sugar Queen and the rest have been gone for a while. Don't ya think Twinkle Toes?" Toph said.

"Now that you mention it, I've noticed that as well. It's been like what three of four days since they left?" Aang asked.

"Something like that. Anyway I'm getting hungry let's split our chores. You do what you do and pick up some wood, meanwhile I'll go get us some food." Toph said.

"I already picked up some wood Toph. Now what?" Aang pointed out.

Toph started walking. "I don't know. You do what you want to do." Toph shrugged.

"How about I go join you?" Aang asked.

"Why would you want to do that Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang started scratching his head. "Well because it's more fun when we do this together. Plus who knows I might even cook for you after all you've done for me these past few days." Aang smiled.

Toph turned around avoiding Aang's gaze as her cheeks turned slightly red. "Yeah sure whatever Twinkle Toes."

 _Why am I acting like this it's only Twinkle Toes._ Toph thought to herself.

Aang walked next to Toph."So where are we heading to Toph?" Aang asked.

"Well for starters let's find us some bushes for some berries." Toph said.

Aang was overjoyed and sprinted into the woods. "ALRIGHT LET'S GET GOING." Aang shouted.

Toph chased after him. "HEY WAIT THAT'S MY LINE TWINKLE TOES." Toph shouted.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph finally caught up to Aang, but only because Aang tripped on a rock.

Aang kept rubbing his head. "So now what Toph?" Aang asked.

"Hold on Twinkle Toes. Let me catch my breath." Toph was somewhat wheezing.

"Oh sorry for that." Aang said. "How were you able to run that far without breaking a sweat?" Toph asked.

"Oh because I used my air bending for a bit." Aang said sheepishly.

 _That explains as to why I couldn't feel his footsteps for a while._ "Well whatever there's some bushes right there." Toph pointed.

Aang walked over to the bush. "Wait hold on. Toph you're missing your eyesight so how do you know which plants are good to eat and which are poisonous?" Aang asked.

"Eh that's pretty easy if you touch a plant for a bit and you get a reaction it more than likely poisonous. You don't always need eyesight for most of these simple things." Toph said.

Aang grabbed some berries from the bush Toph pointed at.

"Could've fooled me. I would've grabbed any type of berry and eat it whole." Aang said.

"Guess you're lucky that I'm here huh Twinkle Toes. Otherwise we'd have to find a new Avatar." Toph said.

Aang walked towards Toph and held up a berry. "I guess you could say that I'm _**BERRY**_ lucky huh?" Aang said.

Toph facepalmed.. "Twinkles you have got to stop hanging around Snoozles ." Toph said.

Aang was patting Toph's shoulder. "Oh come on lighten up Toph." Aang said.

Toph moved Aang's hand. "Oh I can lighten up Twinkle Toes. But when you say something like that I don't care who you are I will evade you as much as I can." Toph said.

"Jeez someone sounds so uptight. Anyway now that I got these berries what's next?" Aang asked.

"Well just a few other plants that should be around here since someone doesn't eat meat." Toph said.

"Hey what can I say. I'm a man of nature." Aang said.

Toph walked away from him. "Anyway we should keep gathering otherwise we're both gonna starve." Toph said.

"Yeah you're right can't start my exercise with an empty stomach." Aang said.

Toph started walking away. "Alright follow me Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Wait up then Toph." Aang said.

Toph stuck out tongue at Aang. "Sorry it makes more fun when you're following me." Toph said with a smile.

Aang started following Toph.

 _This girl is something else._ Aang thought to himself.

Aang caught up to Toph and both were walking together. Aang kept looking at his surroundings. Not that he's seen anything new, but it seemed nicer when he was with someone other than himself.

 _Who was this special someone he was talking about? It's driving me crazy. I was interested in Katara, but I feel like she might end up with Zuko. My conscious said it was Toph, but that's impossible. She has feelings for Sokka. Not that she'll say it out loud. Yeah no way it's Toph she's the girl who's in love with my best friend._ Aang hopelessly thought to himself.

"AHA. THERE'S OUR FOOD TWINKLE TOES." Toph shouted.

That little outburst snapped Aang back into reality.

"Uh did you say something Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph pointed at some more plants. "I found us some more food Twinkle Toes." Toph said with a smile.

"All we have to do is just grab it right?" Aang asked.

"Yeah that's pretty much it Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang got to work and started picking up all the plants that Toph pointed at.

"Hey wait a minute why am I the one that's doing all the hard work?" Aang asked.

"Because I'm the one that's doing the cooking. Besides you're the one that wanted to help Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"You have a point." Aang groaned.

Toph walked over to a tree and decided to sit down. "Well I think we have everything. Let's just take a small break. What do ya say Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang walked over and sat down next down to Toph. "You're the one who wanted for us to hurry up because you're going to starve." Aang said.

"Yeah, but I'm tired." Toph complained.

"Toph you woke up like thirty minutes ago." Aang said.

"Just five minutes." Toph said.

"I guess... Well it does look nice today." Aang mumbled.

"Well it does feel nice out today doesn't it Twinkle Toes?" Toph said.

"Yup you're right about that Toph." Aang said.

"Hey Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"What is it Toph?" Aang asked.

"Tell me about your biggest fear." Toph said.

Aang looked at her. "Why do you want to know?" Aang asked.

"Well since you trust me with your life. I might as well know what your biggest fear is." Toph said.

 _My biggest fear. Should I tell her. I guess she's right I can trust her. If I can't trust her then who can I trust._ Aang thought to himself.

"Fine I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone alright?" Aang said.

"Ooh being rejected huh?" Toph interrupted.

"Toph I'm serious." Aang said.

"Alright I won't tell anyone. I promise." Toph said.

"Well alright then. My biggest fear is hurting the people I care about in my Avatar state while in my quest of trying to destroy the fire lord and not being able to uphold my responsibilities as the Avatar." Aang said.

Toph sat there immobile. Seconds turned to minutes as there was an empty silence in the air. Until finally Toph spoke up. "So that's your biggest fear huh?" Toph asked.

Aang looked at her.

"Now you have to tell me all of your fears Toph." Aang said.

"How about you guess them." Toph said.

Aang thought about all his moments he shared with Toph to try to figure out Toph's fears. "Aha I got it." Aang said.

"Well spill it. I want to hear what you have to say." Toph said.

"Well ok if I get it wrong then promise not to get angry." Aang said.

"I won't. Just spill already." Toph said.

"Well personal hygiene." Aang responded.

Toph was lucky Aang was sitting next to her because she straight up punched him in his shoulder in one swift motion.

"GET SERIOUS YOU AIRHEAD." Toph said.

Aang rubbed his shoulder in pain. "I don't know if that was for showing affection or showing anger." Aang groaned.

"Well it's your fault." Toph said.

"Yeah, but was that really necessary?" Aang asked.

"Eh that's not important." Toph shrugged it off.

"I DISAGREE." Aang shouted.

"Anyway get serious Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Alright alright. So after going through every moment that you and I have shared I think one of your fears is losing control of a situation. I also know you're persistent on being independent, but come on we both know that you have to depend on others. Finally I think that your biggest fear is solitude and not having friends. I can see why you give us nicknames." Aang said.

"Why's that?" Toph asked.

"You don't want to get too attached to anyone of us because you think you might lose us." Aang said.

Toph looked up and sighed out loud. "Well I guess I'm not the only one who can read their friends like an open book." Toph said.

"You know what's funny Toph." Aang said.

"What?" Toph said.

"You said you can read me like a book, but ironically you can't see much less read a book." Aang smiled.

Toph punched him once more in his shoulder.

"What was that for?" Aang asked.

"You asked for it Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Well how about we head back Toph?" Aang asked.

"Yeah let's go Twinkle Toes." Toph said. She stood up, but tumbled back down. Aang just stared at her.

"Umm… you alright there Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph looked at Aang. "Well it seems that my legs have fallen asleep. It feels like a pins and needles sensation." Toph chuckled.

"Well that pretty much happens when you cut off your blood supply. Anyway it's probably going to take a while for that sensation to leave. So I'm going to give you a piggy back ride." Aang said.

Toph started to blush. "No way am I letting you pick me up." Toph protested.

Aang picked up Toph. "I don't want to hear Toph. Just be a good little girl and obey." Aang smiled.

Toph gave up and lost the argument. "Fine whatever Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Since your arms aren't asleep you carry the food I've gathered." Aang said.

"Sure fine by me." Toph said. Aang started walking back to where they left their things as he had Toph carried in his back. He noticed that Toph was unusually quiet up there. For a summer morning that was supposed to be hot it seemed fresh. As if they were in the beginning days of spring. As Aang was carrying Toph she leaned her head on Aang's back.

 _I can hear his soft breathing. It's so warm and nice up here. I wonder what's he thinking of?_ Toph thought to herself as she was starting to take a nap.

Aang kept walking and a lot of things were going through his head.

 _How am I supposed to help Toph? I wonder how I can convince her to trust that we won't abandon her? I might as ask her when we get back._ Aang reassured himself.

He heard soft breathing and noticed that Toph fell asleep.

 _She seems calmer and more likeable. Unlike when she's awake_. Aang thought to himself. He stopped midway and realized something important.

How _is she able to carry the food in her sleep?_ Aang looked behind him and noticed she had it nice and tightly gripped on her elbow.

 _She has a lot of strength. I'll give her that much._ Aang thought to himself.

Before he knew it he made it back. He walked over to a tree and gently put her against the sunlight and under the shade of the summer breeze. Aang looked at her as she sighed in her slumber.

 _This girl is something else. She just woke up and now she's taking a nap this early. We did train pretty hard yesterday._ Aang rubbed his arms as he remembered all the pain Toph made him feel. "Anyway I'll put in the wood and get this fire started so Toph can just wake up and start cooking. If I decided to cook I'd probably poison the food and start a fire." Aang sighed.

"Might as well get some training in as well." Aang picked up the wood and moved it to there was less grass and used his firebending to turn on the fire. After he was done with that he decided to start his training.

"Let's see what should I start with? I can lift a boulder up the mountain? No that's going to take me a while and with an empty stomach I won't get very far. I could train in the water? No with Toph asleep there's no point in that. AHA." Aang shouted.

He then saw Toph moving. "Oh crap I forgot about her." Aang chuckled.

"I can do that little training exercise that I did atop of the mountain. All I have to do is focus." Aang said. Aang sat on top of a rock and began meditating.

 **AVATAR**. His conscious called out to Aang.

 _What do you want now?_ Aang asked.

 **Have you made your choice?** His conscious asked.

 _What choice?_ Aang asked.

 **Man I can't believe how dense you are. I'm a part of you and I even see as to why your partner gets annoyed of you.** His conscious said.

 _Hey what's that supposed to mean?_ Aang asked.

 **Listen. Would you sacrifice the person that you love to save the rest of the world? Or would you sacrifice the rest of the world to save the person you love?** His conscious asked.

 _Why do you keep asking me this question? I told already I just don't know._ Aang said with sorrow.

 **I keep bringing this question up because you're the Avatar.** His conscious said.

 _Yeah so?_ Aang asked.

 **As the Avatar you have to make some choices in order to save others.** His conscious said.

 _Seems like a lot of trouble._ Aang said.

 **Listen. About that girl you're hanging out with.** His conscious said.

 _Are you talking about Toph?._ Aang said.

 **Toph? Yeah her. Anyway describe her to me.** His conscious said.

 _What do you mean describe her?_ Aang asked.

 **What kind of girl is she? Be honest and don't try to lie.** His conscious said.

Aang sat there thinking all of the moments he shared with the blind earthbender.

 _Well she's not your typical girl I can tell you that. She doesn't care about her appearance, she's persistent on being independent even though she cares about her friends. She doesn't take her life for granted Despite all of her flaws she always makes me happy._ Aang said.

 **Okay Avatar let's say hypothetically this Toph girl gets killed. What will you do?** His conscious asked..

 _I don't know as to what I might do to that person. I'm afraid I might lose it and kill that person. I know it's against my morals, but I'm sick and tired of losing the people that I love._ Aang said. **What's that going to solve Avatar? If you kill this person it's not going to bring her back to life now is it?** His conscious said.

 _So what are you saying? That I should let this person go and sit around doing nothing._ Aang said.

 **I said no such thing. Killing isn't going to get you anywhere. This person must be severely punished and face the consequences. If you kill, you're stooping to their level and it's just going to be a never ending cycle of pain and misery.** His conscious said.

 _So why are you telling me all of this?_ Aang asked.

 **Because I don't want you to steer off the path of good. Besides do you think this Toph girl would like to see you full of pain and misery rather than joy and prosperity?** His conscious asked.

 _You do have a point_. Aang said.

 **Anyways I know your love with her.** His conscious teased.

 _I'm not in love with her. My feelings towards Toph aren't love. No what I feel is gratitude._ Aang smiled.

 **Gratitude? Would you care to explain?** His conscious asked.

 _Well she's made me into a better person. I don't know how, but somehow she has. Besides_ _she likes my best friend._ Aang said.

 **Well who know maybe her feelings have changed?** His conscious asked.

 _Yeah who knows?_ Aang shrugged.

 **Not to alarm you or anything, but** **I sense your friend is already awake. You might as well just go to her side.** His conscious said.

 _Wait but I just started my training._ Aang said.

 **Avatar time is different here than from your time. I think you've been here for about an hour.** His conscious said.

 _Man time flies by in here._ Aang pointed out.

 **Anyway I'll be seeing you later young Avatar.** His conscious said.

 _Yeah I'll be seeing you later as well._ Aang said.

He slowly opened his eyes and noted that it was almost afternoon. He looked straightforward and noticed that Toph was finishing off her cooking.

Toph looked up. "Hey Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Hey Toph. You look relaxed." Aang pointed out.

"Well after that nap I felt like a new person." Toph said.

"Well that's good to hear." Aang said.

"Anyway what were you doing Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Well since you were asleep and clearly I can't cook I decided to get a little training done." Aang said.

"It seemed like you were asleep to me." Toph smirked.

"Well I wasn't. Anyway how come you didn't let me help you cook?" Aang asked.

"Well you were "busy" so I didn't want to disturb you. Besides I had nothing else to do so I decided to finish cooking." Toph said.

"I think you mean start cooking." Aang said.

Toph stuck out her tongue."Shut up no one asked for your opinion." Toph said.

"So much for being a new person." Aang said.

They both stood in silence with nothing making it awkward for the both of them. The only thing that can be heard is the fire. Both of them trying to rack something from their brains to start a conversation and end the silence.

Finally, Aang spoke up. "So um Toph. Do you have anything that you need help with?"

Toph turned her head towards his direction.

"No, nothing at the moment Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"So what exercises are we going to be doing today?" Aang asked.

"Well first things first. How are you feeling? Tired or what?" Toph asked.

"Well for now I'm just hungry. Other than that I'm pretty fit." Aang said joyously.

Toph smiled at him."Well since you're so fit you're gonna carry a boulder up the mountain again this time 20 laps." Toph said.

"HA. Is that all? I can do this in less than an hour." Aang said.

Toph exhaled "Don't waste your breath Twinkle Toes. It takes you an hour to only do about half the mountain". Toph said.

He smiled at Toph. "But you forgot about something." Aang pointed out.

"And what would that be?" Toph asked.

"I've been training for a while so I've gotten used to it." Aang said.

"Oh you're right about that Twinkle Toes."

Aang walked next to Toph. "So are you almost done there Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph smirked. "No not yet. Why? Do you want some of my delicious cooking? Toph asked. Aang turned away. "Obviously. Why else do you think I would ask Toph?" Aang said.

"Oh just because." Toph said.

"Hey Toph." Aang said.

"What is it Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked. Aang looked back at Toph.

"Don't you ever miss your old life?" Aang asked.

"What do you mean Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"I mean don't you miss your old lifestyle?" Aang asked.

"No not really. Why?" Toph asked.

"Well because you pretty much had everything Toph." Aang said.

Toph stuck out her index finger. "All but one thing Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"And what would that be?" Aang asked.

"Freedom. I didn't have any freedom at all. I was always under surveillance all day, every day." Toph said.

Aang had a sudden flashback to when they first went to the earth nation.

"Ah that explains a lot." Aang said.

"What explains a lot." Toph said.

"Well you remember when we first met." Aang said.

"You mean when you cheated and used airbending instead of earthbending." Toph said.

"Yeah that. Remember what I was telling you before you stormed off?" Aang said.

"Yeah, you said that you had a vision." Toph said.

"Exactly. Well when Sokka, Katara, and I were looking for my earthbending teacher I had a vision about this girl and we went asking some people and we came to find out it was your family. The thing is when we asked about a girl in the Bei Fong's they said that they didn't have any children. That is until I 'wrestled' you." Aang said.

"So that's how much they guarded me? So others outside my family didn't know that I existed? They believed that my parents didn't have any children?" Toph asked.

"Probably. I'm pretty sure they did all that to protect you Toph." Aang said.

"If they let me have a little freedom I wouldn't have cared about their protection." Toph said. Aang shrugged. "Can't say I blame them Toph." Aang said.

"What do you mean you can't blame them Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang looked away and put a hand on his chin pondering. "Well if I had something so precious to me I'd do anything to protect them no matter the cause." Aang said.

Toph smirked at Aang. He turned and looked at Toph.

"What why are you smirking Toph?" Aang said. Toph kept smirking at Aang.

"So you're saying I'm precious Twinkle Toes? Toph said.

Aang stammered. "N-not at all Toph." Aang said.

Toph really loved teasing Aang since he was such an easy target. Toph stood up and walked to the food and tasted it.

"FOOD'S READY TWINKLE TOES." Toph shouted.

Aang stood up and walked over to Toph.

"Quit shouting. I'm not that far away Toph." Aang said.

"Well I needed to grab your attention somehow." Toph said.

Aang mimicked Toph. "Oh how about? Aang the food's ready could you please come over here?" Aang said.

"That's boring and why are you making me sound like that?" Toph asked.

"Well that's because that's what you sound like in my head." Aang said.

Toph grinned at Aang. "So now you're thinking about me Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Ah shut up shut up Toph." Aang said.

Toph dropped and started laughing on the ground.

Aang stopped and looked at Toph. "What's so funny Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph rubbed the tears of her eyes. "You're just an easy target Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Great so now I'm basically your plaything." Aang said.

"Essentially." Toph replied.

"Great to know where I stand Toph." Aang said.

"At least you're not my training dummy." Toph said.

"Yeah that's true." Aang said.

"Anyway let's eat Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Can't argue with you there Toph." Aang walked over to a nearby tree and decided to down while Toph was serving food.

Once Toph was done serving food she grabbed both plates and walked over to Aang. "Here you go Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang stretched out his arm and grabbed the plate. "Thanks Toph." Aang smiled.

"Let's get eating I don't want you to slack off." Toph said.

"Right right. I've already got the hang of it." Aang replied.

"Whatever Twinkle Toes."

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph and Aang went to the river and were walking side by side talking about what Aang's next exercise is.

"So why are we back here Toph?" Aang asked.

"Well I want for you to work on your balance." Toph said.

"Ok? So what does this have to do with being in the lake?" Aang asked.

Toph spun her index finger around. "Well look at your surroundings." Toph said.

Aang looked around and figured why Toph picked out this place.

"Is it because the area isn't balanced at all?" Aang asked.

"That's correct. Now I want you to stand on one foot until I say stop." Toph said.

Aang looked at the ground in disappointment. _Knowing Toph I'm going to be here for a while._ Aang thought.

"So is that going to be it Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph grinned. "After I tell you to stop I want you to switch legs." Toph said.

"This is going to be a pain in the butt." Aang muttered.

Toph looked at him. "Did you say something Twinkle Toes?" Toph said with an edge to her voice.

"No, not at all Toph." Aang said.

"That better be the case." Toph said.

"So where do you want me to stand Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph pointed by the edge of the lake. "The edge of the lake Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Why the edge of the lake and not somewhere else?" Aang asked.

"Because if you mess up you'll fall into the lake and it'll be hysterical." Toph said.

"Great I'm an entertainer now." Aang said.

"I don't wanna hear any complaining Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yeah I know already." Aang said.

"Ok now get to where I was pointing." Toph said.

"Alright gotcha Toph." Aang said. He walked over to the edge of the lake and stood up with one foot.

"That's more like it Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"So I'll stop when you give the sign right?" Aang said.

"Yeah. Well unless I forget that is." Toph said.

"Well whatever." Aang said.

"Alright you can begin now Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Yeah I started awhile ago Toph." Aang said. Only five minutes in and Aang could feel the burn in his calf muscle. The sensation of just giving up was overwhelming him. 

_Come on if I can't do five minutes of standing on one leg I'm going to have push myself even harder._ Aang thought.

Toph decided that she was bored of waiting so she started training on her earthbending as well. Not that she needed any more training, but she was bored.

 **XXXXXXXX**

After a while Toph decided that Aang's exercises were done for the day. "Alright Twinkle Toes we've been at it for quite a few hours. Wanna do something else?" Toph asked. Aang walked from the edge of the lake. His calf muscles were burning as he couldn't walk straight. All those times Aang fell into the water made it a little better as he got to refresh himself a little bit.

"I can't feel my legs anymore." Aang said.

"Look on the bright side Twinkle Toes." Toph said. Aang looked at Toph in exhaustion.

"And what would that be?" Aang asked.

"At least your balance has increased by a long shot." Toph pointed out.

"Well I guess you're right Toph." Aang said.

"When am I not Twinkle Toes." Toph grinned.

"Of course you would say something like that." Aang said as he was used to Toph's witty retorts.

"So what do you want to do now Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Well after a few days I want to have a rematch to our previous fight." Aang said.

"Someone's getting a little confident." Toph said.

"Well that's one way we could waste our energy on." Aang said.

"Same stipulations right Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Pretty much Toph. So how about it Toph?" Aang asked.

"Hey if you're asking to get your butt kicked willingly then how could I refuse a sweet offer." Toph said.

"So that's a yes?" Aang asked.

"You better believe it Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"So where do you want to fight Toph?" Aang asked.

"Let's just settle things here." Toph said.

"Ok fine by me Toph." Aang replied.

"Alright let's get started Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang raised his hand and sat down. "Hold on before we start can we have a five minute break?" Aang asked.

"What's wrong? Just a while ago you were running your mouth about wanting to fight me and you can't even fight." Toph mocked.

"Well if I hadn't been on one foot each for an hour at least I would've been fine." Aang said. Toph sat down and waited for Aang.

"Fine I'll wait five minutes." Toph said.

"Thanks Toph." Aang said.

"Just wait Twinkle Toes after those five minutes I'm gonna pummel you." Toph said menacing. "Eh I've heard those words before." Aang smiled.

"It was after I destroyed you Twinkle Toes." Toph pointed out.

"If I remember correctly who was it that fainted right after our battle?" Aang mocked.

Toph stood up and walked over to Aang while cracking her fists.

"Ok now you're asking to get your butt whooped aren't you?" Toph asked.

Aang waved his hands in distress.

"Wait I was just joking Toph." Aang panicked.

Toph stopped midway through her tracks and decided to sit down.

"That better be the case _Twinkle Toes_." Toph said with an edge to her voice.

"Sometimes I can't tell if you're planning to kill me or if you're just trying to scare me." Aang said.

"Well I can't kill you. Sadly." Toph said.

"Wait what do you mean sadly?!" Aang panicked.

"Well if I had the option I could, but since you have to 'save' the world I can't do that." Toph air quoted.

"You're just messing with me right Toph?." Aang asked.

"Sure why not Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"We're going to have to reevaluate this friendship of ours Toph." Aang said.

Toph punched Aang in his shoulder.

"You really need show other ways of affection Toph." Aang said as he was rubbing his shoulder. "Lighten up Twinkle Toes. At least I'm showing affection right?" Toph said.

"Yeah you do have a point Toph." Aang said.

"It's been about five minutes. You ready Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang stood up in a quick shot. "You better believe it Toph." Aang said.

 _Looks like Twinkle Toes has finally grown some confidence_. Toph smiled.

Aang noticed this and looked at Toph.

"What's so funny Toph?" Aang asked.

"Oh nothing I just find it funny that you think you can beat me." Toph smirked.

"Oh then you're going to be dying of laughter when I beat you." Aang said.

"Alright this talking is boring." Toph said.

Aang and Toph both walked in opposite directions and turned to face one another after a few steps of walking.

"Same rules right Toph?" Aang asked.

"Pretty much Twinkle Toes." Toph replied.

Both of them stood in a fighting stance waiting for the mark. The wind blew and sent leaves flying. A single leaf dropped on the ground. As it dropped both started. Aang summoned a boulder and slammed it sending debris of rocks towards Toph. She sidestepped and punched majority out of the way. Toph then stomped on the ground summoning a pillar beneath Aang sending him out of the ground. Once Aang was in midair. Toph raised both hands and summoned an earth spear and an earth pole. She sent the spear towards Aang at full speed. Aang saw this waited and grabbed it by the butt of the spear and sent it right back to Toph. She smirked and put an earth wall in front of her. Aang saw the wall and realized that this was his opportunity. Once he landed he ran behind the wall and was about to punch Toph until he was hit with the pole Toph brought out earlier. Aang jumped back and summoned various boulders and punched them towards Toph. Once he sent them he ran behind the boulders so Toph wouldn't enough time to react. Toph punched, kicked, and head butted all of the boulders. Aang jumped in midair and was aiming at Toph with a jumping side kick. Toph side stepped out of the way barely managing to escape Aang's side kick. Once he landed Toph saw her opportunity and performed a tornado kick on Aang. He saw this and blocked the kick with his for forearms. Aang grabbed Toph's ankle and spun her in a circle releasing her making her crash in a tree. Aang ran towards Toph aiming to end their 'little' match. Toph waited for the right time and once she felt Aang close by she quickly performed a kip-up and axe kicked Aang making him lose all feeling on his left shoulder. Then she roundhouse kicked Aang in the face sending him a few meters back and didn't move a single muscle after that kick.

"Looks like I win once again Twinkle Toes." Toph smirked.

Aang stood up and staggered. "Not yet Toph." Aang said.

Toph face palmed as she felt him still trying to fight. He summoned three more boulders at her and punched them with his right arm. Toph punched through two of them and grabbed hold of the third one sending it back to Aang with three more boulders behind it. Aang punched through all of them and fell onto one knee. He was clearly exhausted. What surprised him was that Toph was exhausted as well. Toph used the last of her strength to run at Aang aiming with another axe kick to his right shoulder to finish him. Aang saw Toph coming at him and somehow got his second wind and ran at Toph. Once they met in the middle Toph was aiming for an axe kick and Aang blocked it with his forearms. Once Toph's foot landed on the ground both Aang and Toph did a roundhouse kick hitting shin with shin. Then both of them punched each other in the face with the same amount of force dazing them. Both fell on one knee and they looked at each other. "You wanna keep going Toph?" Aang asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"So is that a yes?" Aang asked.

"Yup" Toph said.

Both Toph and Aang tried to back up and summon boulders ,but both their bodies betrayed them and they fell face first to the ground.

"How about we go back to the campsite?" Aang asked.

"Actually let's not do that." Toph said.

"Why not?" Aang asked.

"We should probably head back to Sugar Queen."

"Oh ok. Then let's get going." Aang said.

Aang stood up and waited for Toph to follow him. Then he heard a little 'eep' come out of Toph. He turned around and saw that Toph was having a hard time standing up. She noticed that Aang was staring at her and she tried acting casually. Aang walked over to her and lightly kicked her ankle. Toph stood there feeling a shock going through her body and she couldn't hold it any longer and she screamed. Aang carried Toph as they were heading back.

"You know you could've told me you sprained your ankle." Aang lightly chuckled.

"And why would I tell you that Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"I don't know just because." Aang said.

Toph started blushing as she was hitting Aang in his back.

"Put me down Twinkle Toes it's embarrassing." Toph said.

Aang smiled at Toph "Sorry Toph no can do." Aang said.

"Why won't you put me down?" Toph asked.

"Well I can't just leave someone who's in need of my help." Aang said.

"And who said I was in need of your help?" Toph asked.

Aang shrugged. "Oh well since you don't need my help I'll just put you down." Aang said as he stopped and placed Toph on the ground.

"Well I'll meet you back with the rest of the group." Aang said.

Toph went to the nearest tree and tried standing up, but just like before she was getting nowhere. Aang started walking off until a rock hit the back of his head. He turned around and saw that Toph threw that rock at him.

"What do you want Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph turned her head away from Aang as she was blushing.

"I need your help." Toph mumbled.

"I couldn't quite catch that Toph. What did you say?" Aang teased Toph.

"I said I need your help." Toph still mumbled.

Aang put his hand around his ear teasing Toph even more.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Aang smirked. Toph felt her dignity going down the drain.

"I SAID I NEED YOUR HELP TWINKLE TOES." Toph shouted.

Aang smiled at Toph. "Well why didn't you say so Toph? You know that I like helping out those in need." Aang said.

"KEEP PUSHING ME TWINKLE TOES." Toph shouted.

Aang feigning innocence. "Well you have to forgive me Toph, but I couldn't quite hear as to what you were trying to tell me." Aang said.

"I'm so gonna kick your butt once I feel better." Toph threatened Aang.

"Well anyway let's get going." Aang said as he walked over to Toph and carried her on his shoulders.

"You're not opening your mouth about this little incident to anyone. Are we clear?" Toph said. "Clear as dirt." Aang said.

"That's more li- Hey wait a minute isn't dirt not clear?" Toph asked.

"Yeah I know." Aang smiled.

Toph started hitting Aang "So now you're messing with me?" Toph asked.

Aang was laughing. "I'm sorry I'll keep my mouth shut." Aang said.

"Yeah that better be the case Twinkles." Toph said.

Both of them kept arguing as Aang was carrying Toph and out of nowhere he stopped.

"Why'd you stop Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Well it feels like Sokka and Zuko are back.." Aang said.

"Well I can't really feel anything since you're carrying me." Toph said.

"But there's something different about it." Aang said.

"Wait what are you talking about?" Toph asked.

"I mean there's more people." Aang said.

"Well?" Toph asked.

"Let's go check it out Toph." Aang said.

Toph smirked. "You read my mind Twinkles." Toph said.

"Well then let's get going Toph. Oh and by the way hold on tight." Aang said.

"Wait wait Twin—" Toph said.

Aang decided to run instead of using his airbending which made Toph trip very uncomfortable. Once they made it back they saw heard a familiar voice.

"Where have you been Aang and why do you look like a mess?" That voice said.

Toph looked at Aang. "I can only think of a voice that demanding Twinkle Toes." Toph said. "Yup Toph it's Katara." Aang said.

"Well care to explain as to what happened while you were gone?" Katara asked.

"I was just training him like I promised Sugar Queen." Toph replied.

Katara look behind Aang and didn't notice that Aang was carrying Toph.

"What happened to her Aang?" Katara said with an edge to her voice.

Aang knew he couldn't lie. Not because he couldn't, but because he didn't know how to lie. Toph knew this as well. So she thought of something to that benefited both of them.

"Wel—" Aang was in the middle of speaking when Toph put her index finger in his mouth. "Look nothing happened to me Sugar Queen. Twinkle Toes is just carrying me because he lost a match with me, so he has to whatever I have to say. Right Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked with a menacing look.

Aang received the memo really quickly. "Yeah I did. So now I'm her slave." Aang said.

Sokka walked up to Aang and patted him in his head. "Aang buddy of mine let me give you a bit of advice. You're the man so you have to show the female who's boss." Sokka turned around with his eyes closed. "You tell her this. LISTEN HERE WOMAN." Sokka pointed right at Suki. She walked towards Sokka and started to hug him.

"Now who are you talking to like that _**honey**_." Suki said cheerfully until she started cracking his back.

"I was giving Aang some advice about how to maintain a relationship. I told him he should always respect the female in the relationship." Sokka said as he started wheezing for air.

Suki let Sokka go and his back was cracking so much. Aang looked at him worried.

"You okay there Sokka?" Aang asked.

Sokka gave him a thumbs up. "Never been better buddy." Sokka said.

Zuko looked from afar as he se saw Sokka being manhandled by a woman.

"As much as I want to see this end we have to keep working on your fire training Aang." Zuko said. Aang's friendly face went serious really quickly.

"Yeah I know. Toph's been training me to the best of her abilities." Aang said.

Zuko turned around and looked at Toph. "Is this true Toph?" Zuko asked.

Toph locked eyes with him.

"Sure. I taught him the essentials. He has improved dramatically. Even after all of that beating he still wanted to train. If you ask me he has the heart of a true earthbender. This is just from my perspective. I have done everything I can to give him the advantage against the fire lord. The rest is up to you and how you train him." Toph said.

Zuko turned to look at Katara. "Very well then after we have our meal we'll let Aang rest and start his training." Zuko said.

Katara looked at Zuko. "Sure thing I'll get cooking right away." Katara said.

She was about to start until she stopped midway. "Oh and before I start could someone go and collect the wood?" Katara asked.

Aang raised his hand. "I'll go get some wood for us Katara." Aang smiled.

"Wait that means that I have to go with you doesn't it Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang smiled. "Sure does Toph." Aang said.

"I don't want to go Twinkle Toes." Toph complained.

"Oh alright then how about you get off and walk away." Aang smirked at Toph.

 _Crap he's totally messing with me._ Toph thought to herself.

"What's the holdup Aang?" Katara asked.

Aang turned around and look at Katara. "Oh nothing Katara it's just that Toph's telling me that she wants to help out." Aang said.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Toph wanting to help out? You're kidding right?" Katara asked.

Aang looked at Toph with a smirk. "No she was insisting on helping. Right Toph?" Aang said. Toph looked at Katara sheepishly. "Yeah sure why not do something productive right?" Toph said.

Katara looked at her in shock. "Well whatever pleases you I guess." Katara said.

Aang started walking off with Toph on his back. "We'll be back in a bit guys." Aang said.

Sokka started rubbing his stomach in hunger. "Try not to take too long buddy." Sokka said.

Aang looked and smiled at Sokka. "Don't worry we'll be back in a jiffy." Aang said as he walked off.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang and Toph are both having a little squabble as he's carrying her through the woods.

"Why did I have to come?" Toph groaned.

"Well because we can't get Katara on our case." Aang replied.

"You can put me down Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang started walking to the nearest tree, "Way ahead of you Toph." Aang said.

"So just wait here and don't move." Aang said.

"Like I'm gonna move with my condition." Toph said.

Aang stretched his body. "Well might as well get started." Aang said.

He started picking up pieces of wood and he kept putting them next to Toph. He kept this up until Toph called him up.

"Hey Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang turned towards the earthbender. "Yeah what is it?" Aang asked.

"Well I think you've gathered enough wood, but how are you gonna carry all of it back?" Toph asked.

"Oh that's simple I'll just ditch you." Aang said.

Toph picked up a rock and threw at his face. Aang screamed in pain.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Aang shouted.

"I'M BEING SERIOUS TWINKLE TOES." Toph responded in kind.

"I'll just make a sleigh, I'll tie it to my waist and just pull it." Aang explained.

Toph looked at him. "It's about time you put that head to good use." Toph said.

Aang scratched his head. "Is that a compliment?" Aang asked.

"Take it how you want Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"You know what Toph?" Aang asked.

"No, what?" Toph asked.

"I'm gonna put you in the sleigh and pull you with it." Aang answered.

"So you can move more easily right?." Toph asked.

"Yup. Pretty much." Aang said.

"Alright then let's get going Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang started pulling Toph and the pieces of wood.

"Alright alright I'm going." Aang said.

As Aang kept pulling Toph and the wood he was pondering over as to what Toph said about him to Zuko. This is actually a rarity. Aang has never heard Toph say something good about him. That's unless she's sarcastic. Aang kept wondering about it to the point where Toph could sense something from Aang.

"What's bothering you Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang stopped pulling. "Nothing's bothering me Toph." Aang said.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? You can't lie to me Twinkle Toes. No matter how hard you try you just can't lie to me." Toph said.

Aang mentally slapped himself. _I keep forgetting that tidbit of information._ Aang thought to himself. Toph stared at him.

"You completely forgot didn't you?" Toph asked.

"Yeah." Aang said.

"Well you are an airhead. Anyway spit it out tell me what's bothering you?" Toph said.

"Well I'm thinking about you said about me to Zuko." Aang said.

"Is that what's been bothering you?" Toph asked.

"Well yeah. I mean it's rare to get a compliment from you of all people." Aang said. Toph patted the slay telling Aang to sit next to her.

"Well I was being honest Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang just sat there staring at her.

Toph smiled at him. "Plus, I think you forgot, but you're someone close to me. Remember I told you that I'm always gonna be by your side no matter what. So it's only natural to act like that." Toph said.

Aang sat there thinking as to what Toph said.

"Thanks Toph I really needed that talk." Aang said.

"Well what are friends for right?" Toph said.

Aang stood up and started pulling the sleigh.

"Well let's head back before we leave the rest of the gang starving." Aang said.

Toph smiled. "Yeah let's." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"We're back Sugar Queen." Toph said.

"What took you guys so long?" Katara asked.

"We couldn't find any good wood." Toph said.

Sokka was weeping on Appa. "You guys I'm starving." Sokka said.

"Well anyway at least you brought us the wood. So that's good." Katara said.

Aang started carrying the wood towards Katara. "Well I guess I'll put the wood here then?" Aang asked.

"Yeah that'll be fine thanks Aang." Katara said.

"How long will you take Sugar Queen?" Toph asked.

"Give or take 30 minutes." Katara said.

"Hey let's go do something Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang had nothing better to do since he was a little exhausted from Toph's rigorous training so he felt maybe just once he could kick back.

"Eh sure why not Toph." Aang said.

He started walking away until a rock hit his head and he had a pretty good idea as to who was responsible for hitting him..

"What did I do this time?" Aang said.

"You have to carry me remember?" Toph said.

"Oh how could I possibly forget." Aang sarcastically said.

"Much better Twinkle Toes you know how it's done. If I need a maid I'll just hire you instead. Toph smiled.

"Anyway let's get going Toph." Aang said.

As Aang was carrying Toph he was questioning as to where they were going.

"Hey Toph where are we going exactly?" Aang asked.

"Just keep walking. I'll tell you when to stop." Toph said.

Sokka was trying to hold in his laughter. "Try not to take too long guys." Sokka said.

Aang kept walking for a while now and wondered if he was getting anywhere.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So are we anywhere near?" Aang asked.

"Yeah you can stop here Twinkle Toes. Just put me down that log over there." Toph said.

"So why did we have to leave?" Aang asked.

"I just wanted to clear my mind. I would've gone by myself, but after my little incident I can't do that." Toph said.

Aang knew Toph too well even if it was for a short period of time.

"By clearing your mind you mean taking a nap don't you?" Aang asked.

Toph half-heartedly smiled at Aang. "You know me too well Twinkle Toes. I can commend you on that at least." Toph said.

"Well go ahead and take your nap. I won't go anywhere." Aang said.

"Well I'll take you up on your offer Twinkle Toes. You should take a nap as well. It might calm you down as well." Toph said.

Aang smiled at Toph."Nah I'm fine thanks Toph." Aang said.

"Well suit yourself." Toph said.

With that Toph took her nap. Aang looked around and noticed how beautiful his surroundings were. He'd been so worked up about stopping the Fire nation, more specifically the Fire Lord himself that he failed to notice the simplest thing around him.

 _Well I can't let something as beautiful as this be destroyed by some nation._ Aang thought to himself.

He decided to sit next to Toph and meditate while he can have some peace and quiet. While that was his intention, after 5 minutes he started dozing off as well.

 _Well I think I'll take up Toph's offer. I mean a simple nap couldn't hurt either._ Aang thought as he blacked out into his beauty nap.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"Well that sure took a lot longer than expected." Katara said.

Sokka walked towards Katara. "What's taking so long sis? You're not the kind of person to miscalculate like that." Sokka said

"Well I guess this is a first." Katara said.

Aang was walking back with Toph on his back.

"HEY GUYS" Toph shouted.

"Hey Toph." Everyone said in unison.

"So did you guys finish with your business?" Suki asked.

"Yeah pretty much Aang said. Sokka was studying Aang.

"You look pretty relaxed there buddy." Sokka said.

"Well Toph helped me relieve some stress." Aang said.

Suki looked at Aang. "Well isn't that lovely of To— WAIT WHAT?" Suki asked.

Aang smiled."Yeah Toph helped me calm myself. I haven't felt this good in a long time." Aang said.

Suki and Sokka looked at each other and turned away from Aang whispering to each other. "Anyway let's just drop it. Are you finished Sugar Queen? Because I'm starving." Toph said. "As a matter of fact yes I am." Katara said.

Zuko walked over to the rest of the group. "Well let's eat and finish with Aang's training, so we can finally go home." Zuko said,

 **A/N: Weird way to finish the chapter right? Thanks again for reading chapter 3 of my series. Chapter 4 will be out real soon. I know I've got a lot to explain, but that can wait. So this is the edited version of the previous chapter so… yeah. Anyways thanks again. I appreciate you guys:))))**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright guys here's the fourth chapter of my ATLA story. I know what I said about my fanfic, but whatever I'm still sticking to it.** **Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

 **"** Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 4: Tying Loose Ends_

After eating and cleaning up after their mess Zuko started Aang's firebending practice. Toph just sat behind them wondering what techniques the firebender was going to show him.

Zuko looked at Aang "So from my understanding you've essentially grasped earthbending right?" Zuko asked.

"THAT'S RIGHT SPARKY. WERE YOU NOT LISTENING AS TO WHEN I WAS SPEAKING?" Toph shouted to Zuko.

"WOULD YOU QUIT CALLING ME THAT." Zuko said.

Toph smirked. "Never happening." Toph said,

"Anyway seeing as how you just finished with your training with Toph we can move on to firebending." Zuko said.

"Can't firebending just come naturally to me?" Aang asked.

"Well unless you were born in the Fire Nation that is." Zuko replied.

"Yeah, I figured as much." Aang said with his hope being shot down.

"Well then, Toph what exactly did you do to train him?" Zuko asked. Toph walked over to Zuko. "You know the basics: Balance, strength, agility, and so forth." Toph said.

Zuko put his hand on his chin pondering. "Very well. Aang we're gonna work on everything that Toph worked on you." Zuko said.

"Wouldn't that be a waste of my time?" Aang asked.

Toph picked up a rock and threw it at Aang.

Aang rubbed the pain away. "What was that for Toph?" Aang asked

"After training with me for so long I wouldn't expect a question like that from you." Toph said.

"So? That doesn't mean you have to hit me." Aang said

"Well it's because you're very narrow minded. By the way, there's no so thing as a waste of time in training." Toph said.

"But I already did this with you Toph." Aang said.

Zuko decided to cut in between their petty squabble. "Look Aang did you ever think that just because I'm training you on the same things Toph focused on, that maybe the drills are different?" Zuko asked.

"Well yeah I guess you're right." Aang said.

"Well then Aang, I will not have any more time wasted. We're running on a thin line of time as it is so I'm gonna have to go through the broad topic of firebending. Oh and by the way my training isn't anything like Toph's. It's a lot worse." Zuko said.

 _Yeah right Sparky._ Toph chuckled inwardly.

 _If only you knew how she trained me._ Aang thought to himself.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So what are we exactly doing Zuko?" Aang asked.

"Fire punches, kicks, and squats." Zuko said.

 _That's it?_ Aang thought to himself.

Zuko could read Aang's mind. "That's only your warm up." Zuko said

"This is going to be my whole day isn't it?" Aang asked.

Toph cut in. "Well your firebending is garbage so it's probably gonna be longer than that."

"No one asked for your opinion Toph." Aang said.

"Well she's not lying Aang." Zuko said.

Aang put his head in shame. "At least pretend you have some faith in me." Aang said.

"We need to get started already Aang." Zuko said.

"Alright so exactly how many punches am I supposed to do?" Aang asked.

"For starters 200 punches." Zuko said.

"200? Oh ok well whatever." Aang said.

"Don't complain Twinkle Toes. It's not like it's the end of the world." Toph said.

"Easy for you to say Toph." Aang mumbled.

"What was that Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Nothing nothing at all Toph." Aang said.

"That better be the case _Aang._ " Toph said

Aang flinched a little as he heard she put a heavy emphasis on his name..

"Alright you want me to punch with one hand or both?" Aang asked.

"Both." Zuko said.

"Well then, let's finish my training." Aang said as he started punching away.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"I think that's enough for today." Zuko said.

Aang was dead on the floor. Barely able to move.

 _That training was a lot harder than I thought._ Aang said to himself.

"Well it seems you're getting a little better." Zuko said.

"Well I aim to please. Although I really can't move my body at all" Aang smiled

"Does that mean you didn't try as hard with my training/" Toph asked feigning hurt.

"Well I really didn't get as much rest, so I'm a little tired from your training." Aang explained.

"I don't want your explanation Twinkle Toes as long as you're giving it your all I don't care." Toph said.

"So what now Zuko?" Aang asked.

"I mean you really can't do anything. You're just a talking corpse essentially." Zuko said.

"So does that mean we're done?" Aang asked.

"For now." Zuko said.

"Ok then, for now I need a break." Toph said.

"You weren't doing anything at all." Aang said.

"Yes I was." Toph said.

Zuko cut in. "Well before you start bickering I'm gonna go see Katara." Zuko said.

Toph started crackling her hands. "Yeah you go do that Sparky because in a little bit we're gonna have to find a new Avatar." Toph said.

"QUIT CALLING ME THAT." Zuko shouted as he was leaving.

"You were joking right Toph?' Aang asked.

"Who knows maybe I was." Toph said.

"Thanks for reassuring me." Aang said sarcastically.

"Well that's my specialty." Toph said.

"So what are you going to do now?" Aang asked.

"Eh, I guess I'll just wait right here with you." Toph said.

Aang smiled at Toph. "Well I'm not going anywhere Toph." Aang said.

"Yeah I know, but I'm gonna move you over to that tree." Toph said pointing at the tree next to them.

"What for Toph?" Aang asked.

"Well you're probably going to need a nap Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang smiled at Toph. "You're right about that." Aang said.

Toph started carry Aang. "Come on then let's get you over there." Toph said.

"Easy there Toph. I still can't feel much of anything." Aang said.

"So you won't feel it when I drop you?" Toph asked.

"Don't even think about it Toph." Aang warned.

"Relax Twinkle Toes. I won't do anything." Toph smiled. Toph finally got to the tree and put Aang down nice and easy.

"Well thanks Toph." Aang smiled.

"Don't mention it. Now get some rest Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

Aang yawned. "Yeah you're right. I'll see you in a hour or so." Aang said.

Once Aang fell asleep Toph decided to get some food to make for when the Avatar would wake up he wouldn't be starving. Just as Toph was leaving Katara decided to stop her.

"Hey Toph!" Katara shouted.

Toph turned around. "Hey Sugar Queen." Toph said.

"Where are you going Toph?" Katara asked.

"I'm just going to grab a few things while Twinkle Toes is taking his nap." Toph said.

"Would you like any help Toph?" Katara asked.

"Probably not, but thanks for asking Sugar Queen." Toph said.

"Well ok then Toph. Just be careful." Katara said.

"Relax Sugar Queen. I'm just getting some things not fighting the fire army." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang stirred from his 'beauty' nap and saw the moon high up in the sky. He looked for Toph and saw that Toph was serving food.

"So looks like you've finally woken up Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Looks like it Toph." Aang smiled.

"Ya hungry Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Very much actually." Aang said.

Toph handed Aang a plate full of food.

"Here you go Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Thanks Toph. How long have you been here?" Aang asked.

"I just got here actually." Toph said.

"So I'm guessing you made this food?" Aang asked.

"Pretty much. Now eat up before it goes cold." Toph said.

"Alright alright no need to be in a rush." Aang said.

Aang started eating and kept small talk with Toph so it won't get to awkward and boring. Just as Aang was finishing his food Sokka was walking towards them.

"Hey Aang can you help me collect some things?" Sokka asked.

"Did Suki send you to these errands?" Toph asked.

"Yeah she did." Sokka said dejected.

"Thought as much." Toph said.

"So can you help me out buddy?" Sokka asked.

"Uh sure why not?" Aang said.

"Great I owe you buddy." Sokka smiled.

"Toph what are you going to be doing?" Aang asked.

"I'm probably gonna work on my earthbending." Toph said.

"Well then see ya later Toph." Aang said.

"See ya Twinkles." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So what exactly are we getting?" Aang asked.

"Just the essential needs to survive." Sokka said.

"So wood? Right?" Aang asked.

"Yeah pretty much buddy." Sokka sighed.

"Well then let's get finding Sokka." Aang said.

Aang and Sokka started picking up wood seeing if it's good enough to last for a while. During that time they had small talks of different matters.

"So I hear you've been doing lot's of training lately." Sokka said.

"I guess. I mean honestly something this extreme shouldn't be considered training. I have a feeling this is a game between Toph and Zuko to see who can break the Avatar quicker." Aang said.

"Well Aang don't overdo it because then we wouldn't have someone to defeat the firelord." Sokka said.

"Hey Sokka?" Aang asked.

"What's up Aang?" Sokka asked.

"How long was I out after my training?" Aang asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was about 6 to 7 hours maybe." Sokka said.

"What else happened after I was out?" Aang asked.

"Well if you must know Toph stayed by your side almost the entirety of your nap." Sokka said.

Aang put grabbed his chin remembering as to the conversation he had with Toph when he first woke up from his nap.

" _Thanks Toph. How long have you been here?" Aang asked._

" _I just got here actually." Toph said._

 _So she was lying to me? I'm going to ask her if she was lying to me_ Aang thought to himself.

"Aang." Sokka called out to him

"Hmm? Did you say something Sokka?" Aang asked.

"I've been calling you for the 5th time. What's wrong with you?" Sokka asked worriedly.

"Oh nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about something." Aang clarified.

"Well if you say so buddy." Sokka said.

"Don't worry Sokka. Besides, there's other things you need to worry about." Aang said.

Sokka looked at Aang with a puzzled look.

"Like what exactly?" Sokka asked.

"Suki." Aang said.

"You're not wrong about that. Let's get this job done." Sokka chuckled.

"Alright, but you owe me one Sokka." Aang said.

"Jeez you're starting to sound like Toph. She's really starting to rub on you Aang." Sokka said.

"What does that mean?" Aang asked.

"Oh nothing at all. Anyway, I feel like we've collected enough. Let's get going Aang." Sokka said.

"Alright then lead the way Sokka." Aang said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"Alright we're back Suki." Sokka said.

Suki ran up to Aang and Sokka. "You guys sure did take a while." Suki said.

"Well finding good wood sure took us a while to find." Sokka said.

"You can say that again." Aang mumbled.

Suki pointed over near Appa. "Well, Sokka you can put the wood over there." Suki said.

Aang and Sokka both struggled enough carrying the wood from the forest, but walking a few more steps was a nightmare to them.

"Well who knew being a man came with its disadvantages." Sokka said.

"Well look at the bright side Sokka." Aang said.

"And what's that buddy?" Sokka asked.

"At least you're not the Avatar." Aang smiled.

"Well it must be tough on you huh?" Sokka asked.

"Well I've gotten used to it. Plus it's not all that bad." Aang said.

"What do you mean by that?' Sokka asked.

"If I wasn't the Avatar I wouldn't be able to have met you guys, I wouldn't be able to go on awesome adventures, and travel different nations." Aang smiled.

"Well at least I can rest a little easier knowing it's not a burden on you." Sokka said.

"You know Sokka I really enjoyed that talk. Thanks." Aang said.

Sokka patted Aang on his shoulder. "Hey if you need anything I'll be there to help you. After all, you're like a little brother to me. So naturally it's a big brother's job to help his little brother even if it means giving up his life." Sokka said.

Suki was eavesdropping and heard the entire conversation. She smiled knowing that her boyfriend would be an excellent father figure, but blushing after thinking of her having children with Sokka.

Sokka looked up and saw that Toph was sneaking up behind Aang and decided to clear his throat to get Aang's attention.

"Well Aang I would love to talk, but a certain earthbender is eager to speak to you." Sokka said.

Aang turned around, receiving a mud pie by a certain earthbender.

"Hey, Twinkle Toes." Toph casually said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Aang asked

"Because you're used to it." Toph said.

"Anyway it looks like you're ankle is all better." Aang said.

"Well after resting it's gotten a lot better." Toph sighed,

"At least I won't have to carry you anymore." Aang said.

"Admit it Twinkle Toes. You liked carrying me around." Toph smirked.

"HA. Fat chance Toph. I only did because you needed help" Aang said.

"Whatever floats your boat Twinkles." Toph smirked.

'So is there something you need Toph?" Aang asked.

"I'm bored." Toph sighed.

"So what does exactly have to do with me?" Aang asked.

"Entertain me." Toph said.

"No." Aang replied.

"Fine, then let's go do something." Toph said.

"Well what do you want to do?" Aang asked.

"I dunno." Toph said.

"Let's just go walking around and figure out what we're gonna do." Aang suggested.

"Might as well Twinkles." Toph said.

"Wait before we leave I need to see if Sokka needs any more help." Aang said.

"Well I'll wait right here I guess." Toph said.

"Thanks. I'll be right back." Aang said.

Aang ran towards Sokka, but noticed he was nowhere to be seen. Then he heard a sneeze behind Appa and he knew it was Sokka..

"What are you doing back there Sokka?" Aang asked.

"Just looking for something. Are you in need of my services Aang?" Sokka asked.

"No not really I just wanted to know if you needed help with anything else." Aang said.

"Well not really." Sokka said.

"Oh ok then I'll be off with Toph." Aang said.

"You go do that." Sokka said.

Aang ran back to Toph, who was sitting down waiting for Aang to show up.

"Sorry it took so long." Aang said.

"Eh it wasn't that long. By the way what's Snoozles doing?" Toph asked.

"He's looking for something." Aang said.

"Probably his dignity." Toph said.

"That's harsh." Aang chuckled.

"Anyway let's get going Twinkles." Toph said.

"You're not going to stop calling me that are you?" Aang asked.

"Not a chance." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"What's there to do Twinkles?" Toph said.

"Beats me. I'm just following you." Aang said.

"What to do? What to do?" Toph thought aloud.

"Maybe we can take it easy?" Aang suggested.

"Don't you find that to be a bit boring?" Toph asked.

"Well, I mean we're going to start with another invasion. So we're going to need a lot of rest. Plus, it's almost midnight." Aang said.

"Fine then, let's just go the lake I guess." Toph said.

"I'm really starting to hate going to the lake." Aang groaned.

"Why's that Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Because of that training I had with you." Aang groaned.

"Oh, man up Twinkle Toes. It's not like I was torturing you." Toph said.

 _If only you knew Toph._ Aang thought to himself.

"So the lake it is?" Aang asked.

"Sure why not? Although I still can't quite understand why you dislike going to the lake all of a sudden." Toph said.

"Because like I told you no more than five minutes ago, just being there brings bad memories of your 'training'." Aang said the last part in air quotations.

"Well it's for your own good." Toph said.

Aang realized that Toph had a good point. Had it not been for her training he'd probably still be a novice at earthbending.

Both kept walking in silence mainly due to a certain Avatar having his Sifu stuck in his thoughts for a bit. Seconds became minutes and the awkwardness growing in the silence was starting to annoy Toph. So naturally she was the one who had to break the silence.

"You're awfully quiet Twinkles. Is something bothering you?" Toph asked.

"Well I mean I do have to defeat the firelord in order to save the 4 nations." Aang remarked.

"You know Twinkle Toes you're not very good at being sarcastic." Toph said.

"Can't say that I didn't try." Aang said.

"So what's up Twinkles? I know there's something bothering you in that thick skull of yours." Toph said.

 _Might as well tell her._ Aang thought to himself.

"Nothing's bothering me, it's just that I've been thinking about you." Aang said.

"Any particular reason?" Toph asked.

"Because you've been helping me out way too much and I don't know if I can repay you for it." Aang said.

"When the time comes you'll pay me back." Toph smirked.

"We really need to reevaluate our friendship." Aang said.

"Relax Twinkle Toes. I promise my favors won't be that bad." Toph said.

"I hope not Toph. Oh and by the way Toph thanks." Aang said.

"Well, I have to keep you alive in order for peace across the nations." Toph said.

"Can you just imagine a 12 year old saving the world?" Aang asked.

"Well after all our adventures we've had I can see that from happening." Toph said.

"You can?" Aang asked.

"Of course not. Did you forget that I'm BLIND?" Toph asked.

"I swear Toph." Aang groaned as he slapped his face at Toph's comment.

Toph started cracking up. "Oh lighten up Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she was patting Aang in the back.

After only a few more minutes they arrived to the lake . To Aang however, it felt like an eternity since the whole trip Toph was teasing him non stop. To say it was annoying is an understatement.

"Well we really can't do much of anything." Toph pointed out.

"So you essentially dragged us here for nothing?" Aang asked.

"Well you're the one who followed me to be exact." Toph pointed out.

"Well that's because you said you were bored." Aang said.

"That doesn't mean you had to follow me." Toph retorted.

Aang walked to lake mumbling something about blind, bossy annoying earthbenders. Clearly Aang had forgotten that Toph has good hearing as well and much to his dismay that didn't end up in a pretty situation.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"Was that really necessary Toph." Aang said as he rubbed his head in pain clearly not happy with Toph's actions.

"Like I told you before it was an accident. The rock slipped from my hand and hit your head." Toph justified.

"Look I know that you're blind and all, but I know for a fact that you know the difference between a pebble and a boulder." Aang said.

"Well what can I say? Slippery fingers." Toph said.

"You know sometimes I begin to doubt that the person that's going to defeat me is not going to be the fire lord, but rather a blind earthbender." Aang said.

"Well of course I can kick your butt. Plus I've done that time and time again." Toph scoffed being offended.

"Yeah you don't need to remind me of that again." Aang said dejected.

"Well now that we're here at the river, now what?" Aang asked.

"You're exhausted, I'm kind of tired and you need your rest so for now we'll take it easy I guess." Toph said.

"Well how about we get in the water?" Aang asked.

"You already know how I feel about water Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Sooner or Later you're going to have to get used to being around water." Aang said.

"As long as I fight on land and not water I'll be fine." Toph said.

Aang stared at Toph. " You act as if you're never going to have a fight or deal with anything related to water." **(A/N: Remember when Suki saved Toph? Yeah…. I'll leave it at that)**

"Oh believe me Twinkle Toes I know exactly what I'm doing unlike a certain airbender." Toph smirked.

Aang gave her a confusing look clearly not understanding what Toph was insinuating.

"Are you talking about me Toph?" Aang asked.

"No way Twinkles. What could've given you that idea." Toph sarcastically said.

Aang was getting quite annoyed with Toph's sarcasm. Not only did he have to fight against the Fire Lord in a few days, but he has to also deal with a certain blind earthbender. Aang tried thinking of a way to mess with Toph. A lightbulb popped up into Aang's head with an idea. Smirking he took advantage of Toph's weakness and walk towards the water. Toph felt Aang's vibrations heading towards the lake and questioned as to what the bald Avatar was up to. Once Aang was in knee deep water he decided to surprise the blind earthbender.

"Hey Toph come check this out." Aang said.

Toph gave a confusing look. _What are you up to Twinkles?_ Toph thought to herself. She went walking towards Aang's direction clearly not knowing what the Avatar had in store for her.

"Ok what do you want to show me Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

Aang smirked as he was gathering water. "This." was simply all the airbender said as he whirlpooled Toph with a heavy amount of water as she screeched in surprise.

Toph gave Aang an irritated look. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR AANG?" Toph screamed at him. Aang ignored the scream as he was on his knees laughing from the reaction the blind earthbender gave him.

"I just- you're reaction-" Aang wheezed for air as he couldn't finish his sentence.

Toph stood up and was heading towards Aang with a smile. "So you think this was funny huh Aang." The Avatar heard the menace behind those words. Sure that smile she gave could've fooled anyone, but he knew better and was expecting the worse.

"Look before you do anything that might lead to my misery I have to tell you something." Aang said in distress.

"What is it?" Toph asked.

"You're scream actually sound like a girl." Aang said as he was ready for a beating. Toph didn't feel like taking all her wrath on him so she just gave him a good roundhouse kick to the jaw.

 _Totally worth it._ Aang thought to himself.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph sat next to Aang as he was rubbing himself from that kick he received from Toph.

 _Even though I'm used to this why does it hurt more than last time?_ Aang thought to himself.

"How do you feel Twinkles?" Toph asked

"Well I should already be used to it." Aang sheepishly said as he was rubbing his jaw. Toph stood up from being next to Aang and walked near the edge of the lake putting her feet in the water. Aang looked toward her way and just looked at her glistening in the moonlight.

 _She looks so calm and different somehow._ Aang thought to himself. Toph then turned her head around and looked at Aang.

"You know even though you splashed me with water and I can't see I still find this scenery calming." Toph thought outloud. The crickets were chirping and the silence in nature was calming as the water from the lake can be heard.

"Yeah sorry about that Toph." Aang sheepishly said.

"No don't be Twinkles. I pretty muched asked for it." Toph said as she turned away from Aang. The Avatar listened as she spoke and also picked up the sounds surrounding him and he felt pretty calm. They both enjoyed the silence surrounding them until Aang broke the silence.

"Yeah you're right Toph this scenery is pretty calming." Aang spoke up.

Toph looked afar beyond the lake. 'Hey, Twinkles. Promise me that you'll put a stop to this so we can keep having moments like these." Toph requested. Aang stood up from his position and walked towards Toph as he sat next to her.

"Hey you said it yourself you believed in me. So there's no way that I'm going down without a fight." Aang said as he gave her big smile. Even though she couldn't see his big smile she felt it and she returned a smile as well.

"Thanks for reassuring me Twinkles." Toph said as she yawned.

"Are you getting sleepy Toph?" Aang asked.

"That's usually why people yawn in the first place you airhead." Toph said as she put her head on Aang's shoulders..

"You still keep at it with your witty retorts even in your state." Aang said.

"Would you have me any other way?" Toph asked as she grinned. Aang decided to stand up as he was ready to pick up Toph so they can head back to base. As soon as he was about to stand up he felt a pair of hands grabbing his sleeve. He looked down and saw Toph grabbing him.

"Quit moving Twinkle Toes. How about we just stay here?" Toph asked.

"But we have nowhere to sleep on Toph." Aang pointed out. Toph sat straight up and looked at the Avatar.

"I could just make us an earth tent and we could sleep in them." Toph reasoned with Aang.

"But we need to head back to base to not keep the others worried. Besides haven't you had dinner." Aang asked.

"It'll be fine besides you're the Avatar and I'm the blind bandit so anyone stupid enough to mess with us is a dead person walking. Oh and to answer your last point I already ate when you were having your 'beauty' sleep." Toph said. Aang was also growing weary of the conversation and the long day he had.

"You know what at this point I don't care I'm also growing tired so make your earth tent." Aang said.

"Glad that you're seeing things my way." Toph grinned. She made the tent and Aang and her laid down.

"It's getting a little cold don't you think Toph?" Aang asked.

"It's fine. Besides you're probably gonna end up hugging me while I'm asleep." Toph said.

"So you've noticed it too huh?" Aang pointed it out.

"I noticed a while ago while I was waking up." Toph said.

"It took you that long? I figured it out the first time we slept together." Aang said. Once Aang said that Toph started blushing at his statement.

"Don't make it sound like that.." Toph said.

"What do you mean Toph. I said that I like us sleeping together" Aang said. Toph didn't feel like carrying on with the conversation as she was feeling too tired to keep going.

"Oh nevermind. Goodnight Twinkles." Toph said.

"Yeah goodnight to you too Toph." Aang said as he yawned and fell into a deep slumber. Aang soon woke up in a dark place. He looked around and noticed that Toph wasn't sleeping next to him.

 _No need to get worked up Aang._ His conscious said.

 _What do you want from me.? I'm tired and I have to fight the Fire Lord in a few days._ Aang replied clearly annoyed at the moment.

 _You seem be handling all of this pressure with no sweat Aang._ His conscious replied.

 _Is that what it looks like? To be perfectly honest I'm scared to death._ Aang admitted.

 _Yeah I know. Did you forget I'm conscious, but still even when you seem scared you still manage to keep composure._ His conscious pointed out. Aang thought about the words that Toph said to him and how he enjoyed her company to share moments as peaceful as those.

 _Well that's because I made a promise to someone._ Aang said.

 _Toph huh?_ His conscious asked.

 _Yeah. Well I made her a promise so I'm going to stop the Fire Lord even it kills me._ Aang said.

 _Do you think she'll agree with your statement?_ His conscious asked. Aang's eyebrows furrowed as he questioned what his conscious said.

 _What do you mean?_ Aang asked

 _I don't think Toph wants you to die. She said it herself she wants you to stop the Fire Lord so she you two can share peaceful moments like that together._ His conscious said.

 _Maybe you're but I don't know. All I can tell you is that I AM keeping my promise._ Aang reassured.

 _Who knows Aang we're just gonna have to wait and see. Get some rest. You're big day is coming and we'll see if you're truly ready._ With that said his conscious faded and Aang fell back to sleep.

 **XXXXXXX**

Aang soon woke up to a sneeze he heard. He looked around and saw that Toph was right next to him. She was stirring from her sleep and felt Aang staring at her as he was holding her while she was asleep just like she said he would..

"Are you done staring at me Twinkles." Toph asked. Aang blushed after her statement and let go of her.

"Well good morning to you to Toph." Aang said.

'Yeah yeah good morning.' Toph said. She unmade the earth tent as she ungrasped herself from Aang's hold.

"So now do we head back?" Aang asked.

"I guess we should since we need you to finish your firebending training with Sparky." Toph said.

"Well then let's get going then." Aang said. Toph started walking and Aang followed suit. Throughout their walk they had their normal conversation which would lead them into bickering with each other along the way. Aang would try calming Toph down , but it ultimately led to him getting a beating from Toph and soon after him moaning in pain. Once they arrived back Katara would shoot them down with questions as to why they didn't return last night.

"Well? Why didn't you guys come back last night?" Katara asked.

Toph yawned. "I don't see what the big deal is. I mean it's not like anyone would be stupid enough to attack someone like Twinkles and I." Toph said.

"That's not the point Toph. If something were to happen to either one of you we wouldn't be able to help you guys." Katara solemnly said.

'That's what I'm trying to-" Toph was cut off as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Aang looked at Toph trying to get her to be quiet.

"Look we messed up Katara. You're right we should've came back yesterday, but we were doing something, time flew by and we lost track of time." Aang said trying to reason with Katara.

"Oh alright then Aang I believe you." Katara smiled at Aang. Toph then felt something hit her stomach. This feeling was alien to her and she tried not to pay too much attention to it. She ten felt Zuko walking towards them in desperation

"Alright sorry to cut this conversation short, but Aang it's crucial that we continue with your firebending training. Remember we don't have that much time with you." Zuko said.

Aang gave Zuko a sheepishly smile. "Yeah I don't need a reminder." Aang said.

"Well then Aang get stretching because these coming days are going to be hell for you." Zuko said.

"Don't worry about me Zuko. If I can handle a training session with Toph and you, I'll be clearly fine." Aang smirked.

"If you say so Aang." Zuko said. With that Aang stretched with the basics so he won't pull a muscle or get a cramp along the way of his training session with Zuko. After about 20 minutes of warming up he decide it was time to start.

"Well then I think I'm ready Zuko." Aang said.

'Took you long enough Aang. Let's get show on the road then." Zuko said,

 **XXXXXXX**

Aang and Zuko went training like crazy. **(A/N: While this is happening try thinking of them doing this while hearing** _ **Eye of the Tiger,**_ **or** _ **You're the Best Around.**_ **:)))** They spent the whole day working on controlling his firebending. They would continue this trend for a few days until the final day. On the final day of the battle Zuko told Aang to take the day off. Everyone around questioned that idea believing that Aang should spend every minute he can training before the battle.

"Look it doesn't make any sense I should still be training." Aang reasoned with Zuko.

"Listen Aang you're by far the only option we have and I don't want you to be exhausted before you face off against my uncle." Zuko said.

"Fine I understand I'm going to go relax then." Aang said as he walked off trying not to push himself as he was feeling quite sore from the previous days of hell that he spent with Zuko. Aang decided to spend time with himself and talk with the previous Avatars since he was having a bit of a dilemma since he figured out what he must do in order to defeat the Fire Lord. After he was given his day off by Zuko he spent hours trying to figure out how to defeat the Fire Lord without killing him. After a while he couldn't find a solution and decided to go talk to a certain someone to get his mind off of things. Once he found Toph he decided talking to her might help him.

"Hey Toph." Aang said.

'Hey yourself." Toph replied.

"That's harsh Toph." Aang said

"Well something's on your mind isn't it Twinkles." Toph said. Aang looked at her in a little bit of shock.

"Well yeah, but how did you know Toph?" Aang asked.

Toph smirked at his reply. 'Let's just call it a hunch. So what's up Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Oh nothing much just trying to get my mind off of some things." Aang admitted.

"Does it have to deal with your battle?" Toph asked.

"Well honestly yeah it does." Aang answered honestly.

"Then I don't want to hear about it." Toph said.

"Oh ok then? Let's go do something then Toph." Aang said.

"Well it's almost night time isn't it?" Toph asked. Aang looked around and failed to notice that the day was almost gone. Once he realized that he started to grow anxious just thinking of how little time he has left. Toph felt heavy vibrations coming off of him. She felt that his heartbeat was increasing rapidly even though he wasn't try to show it. All she could do was inwardly laugh at the situation.

 _This must be killing him huh?_ Toph thought to herself.

"Yeah I guess it is almost close to night time Toph." Aang answered back.

"Fine then let's go walking Toph said. _It might help him relieve some stress._ She thought to herself.

"Haven't we been doing that a lot lately?" Aang pointed out.

"Eh it doesn't matter it's better than sitting down all day." Toph said.

"Fine then let's do it." Aang said.

"Lead the way Twinkles." Toph laughed. Aang laughed as well feeling a little happier than how he was a few minutes ago.

"Fine then follow me Toph." Aang said. Both of them kept walking without a clear destination. After a few moments of walking and talking they somehow unconsciously ended up in the mountain were Aang first trained with Toph after they retreated from the Fire Nation towards the Western Temple.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Toph asked. She felt the ground and recognized the place immediately. Aang looked around to see what Toph was talking about. As soon as he did he as well also recognized the place immediately.

"Honestly I don't know either." Aang replied. Toph walked to the edge of the mountain and stretched her arms.

"Well it does bring back some good memories." Toph said as she chuckled.

"Yeah those memories must've been good for you because none of those were good memories to me." Aang said. Toph walked towards Aang and patted Aang in his back.

"Oh quit being such a lump Twinkles." Toph said.

"Yeah yeah Toph. Anyway I know we just got here, but my stomach started speaking to me.' Aang said.

"Yeah I understand as well Twinkles. My stomach started speaking to me a while ago. Just wait here will ya." Toph said. Aang was about to ask what she was about to do, but saw that she made a hole under herself and vanished into the ground leaving Aang with his words stuck down his throat. Seeing as how he was left by himself he decided to sit and wait for Toph. He started meditating thinking about his usual problems as well as defeating the Fire Lord without killing him. Even with all possible solutions all of them required for him to take the life of the Fire Lord which was against his moral codes. He then felt his stomach grumbling again or so he thought. He felt the rumble getting larger making a little anxious until he saw a hole popping out from where Toph was standing at five minutes ago. Just like he thought he saw a tiny earthbender pop out of the hole with a basket on her arm. She held out the basket indicating for Aang to grab hold of the basket. After that he grabbed the basket and questioned as to what's in there.

"Eh Toph what's this." Aang asked. Toph raised her eyebrows.

"I think the locals call it a basket? Although I'm probably gonna have to check back with you." Toph replied.

'Yes I know it's a basket. But what I meant was what's in the basket? Aang asked.

"Isn't it obvious you airhead. There's food in there." Toph said.

"So you mean to tell me you cooked the food from the time you left to now?" Aang asked.

"Not exactly. I cooked the food while you were off training with Sparky. I noticed how hard you were training so I decided to cook you a meal since you were probably going to be tired after that hard training session. So think of it as a reward." Toph said.

"Gee I don't know what to say Toph." Aang said. Toph facepalmed at Aang and just smiled at his actions

"Then don't say anything Twinkles and just enjoy the food." Toph said.

"Didn't you anything for yourself Toph?" Aang asked. Noticing how Toph only brought food for him.

"No Sugar Queen had made some food before you wandered off/" Toph said.

"Speaking of which I wonder where Katara is at?" Aang asked. Toph put her hand in her chin pondering the question asked by Aang.

"Hmmm. If I remember clearly I felt her and Sparky washing Appa." Toph said.

"Now that you mention I notice her a lot with Zuko." Aang solemnly said. Clearly noticing how Katara is starting to act around Zuko. Toph felt weird vibrations coming from Aang and she deduced that he was feeling a little jealous over Zuko and Katara.

"Don't worry about it too much Twinkles." Toph said.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Aang said.

"Of course I'm right when am I never right. Now quit yapping and eat my food." Toph said. Aang did not oblige from her order and started eating her food. Now Toph would never admit, but she enjoyed it when Aang was munching over her food like a wild animal and without a care. She felt her pride grow when she would actually make something enjoyable that someone would like.

"So Toph you're awfully quiet over there. Is there something that you're thinking about?" Aang asked.

"No not really. I'm just trying to get you to eat my food that's all." Toph admitted

"Oh ok then/" Aang mumbled.

"So then what are we going to do after this Twinkles?" Toph asked.

"We should probably head back and start planning before the attack on the Fire Nation." Aang said.

"Yeah I guess so." Toph said. With that Aang kept eating while thinking of his dilemma. Even while stuffing his face with food he couldn't figure a solution. Once Aang was finished with his eating he decided it was time for him to get back to base with Toph. But before they could leave Toph decided to do something that was completely unlike her.

"Well let's go." Aang said.

"Hey before we head back there's something I need to tell you." Toph said.

"What's that Toph?" Aang asked.

"I know you're very anxious over the fight against the Fire Lord. I know that you don't want to kill him because it goes against everything you've been taught. But listen whatever you do tomorrow I'll fully support you no matter what. Besides you made me a promise that you'll stop him no matter what so we can keep sharing moment together like we did a few days ago." Toph said.

"I-" Aang started to speak but Toph wasn't finished.

"But before you start fighting the Fire Lord I don't want you to die on me." Toph requested.

"But Toph-" Aang tried saying

"No buts Aang. I want you to defeat him no matter what. Please Aang promise me." Toph said as she felt different. Aang walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist giving her a hug.

"I can't promise you that. But I can promise you that I'll try my hardest. Is that good enough Toph?" Aang asked.

"I guess. Just know Twinkle Toes I completely have faith in you." Toph said.

"Yeah I know Toph. I won't forget that." Aang said. With all that being said Aang and Toph walked back to base in complete silence. They soon saw everyone planning. They decide to join not because they wanted to, but because they were pretty much a vital part of the plan. After planning they all decide to get some sleep.

"So Twinkles are you going to go to sleep with me/" Toph teased.

"Who knows maybe I will." Aang said.

"Well then what are you waiting for?" Toph asked.

"Well for you to make the tent." Aang said. With that Toph made the tent and both of them were ready to head to sleep.

"Well the big day is tomorrow huh?" Toph asked.

"Yeah after a hundred years of fighting I'm going to be tying some loose ends." Aang said. Toph was already yawning and falling asleep while they were talking.

'Yeah you do that." Toph said

"Goodnight Toph." Aang said.

"Yeah goodnight yourself." Toph mumbled.

Aang fell asleep for a few hours until he noticed something that caught hold of his attention. He saw a bright light and he started walking towards it and saw that it was a lion turtle. ( **A/N: Remember when Aang went missing for a day? Yeah that's pretty much an episode. So I'll leave at that.)**

 **A/N: 4:20 A.M. So I'm way overdue with this chapter but earlier through the year my health was deteriorating and I was essentially screwed, but I've been working myself back to shape. So as I said at the beginning of the chapter I'm sticking to my fanfic until the very end. That being said, this is my fourth chapter so I'm proud of myself to say the very least. I say this because I actually didn't think people would like my story and because I didn't procrastinate as much:)) So there's some references in this chapter and if you find them you get a cookie. Anyway, thanks again for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it very much:)))**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright guys here's the fifth chapter of my ATLA story. So I've made it this far and honestly it surprises me. But before anything this chapter is going to be a time skip. This chapter is going to take a whopping 6 months after the battle of Aang Vs. Ozai.**

 **Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

 **"** Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 5: Aftermath_

After the battle of Aang vs. Ozai everyone decided it was time to celebrate. They celebrate not only for Aang's victory, but rather the fact that the Fire Nation has been stopped and peace was attainable and within arm's reach. Aang's training had paid off. After all those hours of torture with Zuko's training and dealing with Toph's antics that she as well called 'training' he finally was able to protect at least something. That something being the world. The Fire Lord was removed from his throne, he lost his ability to fire bend or any type of bending thanks to Aang. After Zuko was appointed Fire Lord everything went back to normal. Well at this point I don't know what's considered normal. Katara stayed in the Fire Nation as she became the ambassador of the Water Nation, so she took full advantage of that. Zuko and her were now in an official relationship. Just like his sister Sokka moved to the Earth Nation as he became ambassador of the Water Nation. Everyone could tell the only reason Sokka wanted to move to the Earth Kingdom was so that that he could be close to the Kyoshi Warriors, well to be more precise he wanted to be near Suki. Too bad Aang and Toph couldn't hear the news since both of them were in the middle of something. Now that everyone has decided their future pretty much the only ones who were still indecisive were Aang and Toph. Sure they made a promise to keep traveling together after the war, but Toph's parents wanted to settle things with her daughter. They wanted her to come back home so they could fix all personal issues and try to become a loving family once more. Once Toph told Aang the proposition given to her by her parents she needed his advice.

"So what do you think I should do Twinkles?" Toph asked.

"Well for starters I never thought I would see the day when Toph Beifong would ask for advice." Aang said. Toph grew a tick in her forehead and she punched Aang in his shoulder.

"BE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS" Toph shouted at Aang.

"Sorry sorry. I know this is important to you." Aang sympathized.

"Yeah it kinda is Twinkle Toes. So what do you think I should do?" Toph asked.

"Well I think you already know my answer." Aang said.

"You want me to give them a second chance right?" Toph asked.

"Yeah pretty much. I know you want to just forget about them, but remember you have to learn how to forgive. Even if it's the hardest thing to do." Aang said.

"I don't know Twinkle Toes. I couldn't stand them for twelve years of my life." Toph said.

"Well how about this: You give your parents a second try and you keep this up for six months. If it doesn't work to that extent then you could choose what you want to do afterwards." Aang reasoned. Toph looked towards the open area and thought of Aang's proposal to her.

"I don't know about six months Aang." Toph said.

"Well you said it yourself, you've dealt with them for twelve years of your life. I don't think six months could hurt." Aang said.

"Alright then I'll give them a second chance. By the way when did you get so smart?" Toph sarcastically said.

"I'm just trying to help as much as I can." Aang said. Toph turned towards Aang and started at him with those colorless eyes of hers.

"So I guess this is goodbye then?" Toph asked. Aang looked at her and gave her a tiny smile.

"Well don't think of it as a goodbye. Think of it as a see you later." Aang said. Toph then did something that was out of character. She walked up towards the airbender and gave him a tight hug along with a big smile.

"Well then see you later Twinkle Toes." Toph said. Aang returned her smile with the biggest grin he cold give.

"Yeah see you later Toph." Aang said. With their conversation finished Aang took Momo with him and headed towards Appa so they could keep traveling.

 **XXXXXXXX**

It's been a whopping six months since Aang had departed from the blind earthbender and even though it was hard to admit he was actually starting to miss her witty retorts. In those six months Aang trained as much as he could so he wouldn't lose his touch. He'd grown a little bit a couple of inches, well three to be precise. He decided he wanted to see his friends since he really didn't keep in touch. He went to the Fire Nation to visit Zuko and see how he was doing as Fire Lord. Although he was expecting the Fire Lord it surprised him when he saw Katara in the Fire Nation. They talked for a bit and she revealed what everyone was doing in those six months that he left. It later dawned on him that Zuko and Katara were a thing now. After they kept talking for what seemed a good hour he needed to see Zuko and see how he was doing. After that he decided to go to the Earth Nation and visit Sokka and Suki since he wanted to see his 'brother'. Once he arrived there he asked questions as to they were located. Pedestrians soon told him where he was. Just like that he was pretty much able to find him since he was a Water tribe member he was easily distinguishable. He walked towards him and poked his left shoulder so as soon he would look towards his left Aang would move towards his right to confuse him. **(A/N: Yeah I'm one of those people who do that:))** Once Sokka fell for it Aang called out to him.

"Hey Sokka what's up?" Aang asked.

"Oh hey Aang. It's just some idiot tried messing with me- WAIT IS IT REALLY YOU BUDDY? HOW YOU BEEN?" Sokka asked,

"Well I'm doing fine I guess." Aang replied.

"Oh and by the way what's with ditching us like that. You didn't even properly say goodbye to us. We were actually worried about you" Sokka said. One could hear the crack in voice as he was speaking to Aang.

"I'm sorry Sokka. I was talking to someone and I completely forgot to bid my farewells to everyone in the group." Aang regretted. Sokka couldn't stay mad with him. They were best buddies after all.

"Well no hard feelings Aang." Sokka said.

"Yeah and again I'm sorry for my actions." Aang said. Sokka then took interest in the person who completely grabbed Aang's attention to the point where he forgot to say goodbye to everyone.

"So Aang who's this person you were talking to?" Sokka asked.

"Oh that's an easy one. Toph." Aang replied. Sokka's mouth opened wide. That little blind airbender was more important than he was? His best friend? Not to mention the guy who's helped him out with every problem that Aang's had to deal with way before she became a part of the team.

"Wait you mean to tell me she was more important than me? Your best friend." Sokka asked.

"Well I don't know about that." Aang said.

"Did you at least tell her goodbye?" Sokka asked feeling a little jealous as to where he stands between Aang.

"Yeah I did." Aang said. He wouldn't forget what Toph did to him right before he left.

"So what made you want to say goodbye to her/" Sokka asked.

"Well if you must know. I was helping her out with a dilemma she was going though." Aang tried reasoning with him. Sokka had a pretty good idea what Toph's problem was.

"Was it her parents?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah how'd you know?" Aang asked.

"Well let's call it a hunch." Sokka said.

"So anyway how's everything in the Earth Kingdom?" Aang asked.

"Well to be perfectly honest it's been quite peaceful ever since we defeated the Fire Nation. I feel bored from time to time." Sokka said.

"But I bet if we were in the middle of another war you'd want nothing to do with it." Aang pointed out.

"Well probably you're right." Sokka agreed.  
"So how's Suki?" Aang asked.

"Well she's never been better. I see her from time to time again. You know I honestly thought that if I moved to the Earth Kingdom I would get to spend more time with her." Sokka said.

"Aren't you happy with that?" Aang asked.

"Can't complain about it. At least I'm spending some time with her I guess." Sokka said

"So how have you been doing? You know as ambassador and all." Aang asked. After he left without saying a proper farewell six months ago he wondered what happened with his friend during that time.

"Wait how did you know I became an ambassador?" Sokka asked.

"Well funny thing is Katara told me what had become of you guys after I unexpectedly left." Aang said.

"So you visited the Fire Nation first I see." Sokka said.

"Well I needed to check up on Zuko and see how he was ruling the Fire Nation. I'm not going to lie I wasn't expecting Katara to be the first person to see when I arrived there." Aang said.

"And I'm guessing she filled you on what everyone was doing?" Sokka deduced.

"Well pretty much." Aang said. Sokka looked around and forgot that he was supposed to meet Suki to do some work.

"Oh sorry to cut this conversation short. I would like to keep talking about what we did while you were gone, but I have to do some work with Suki." Sokka said.

"No that's ok I'll talk to you later." Aang said

"Well when we're done I'd like for you to come visit our home." Sokka said,

"Wait you guys have a house?" Aang asked. Sokka pointed out to the house at the end of the market. There wasn't anything special about their house to say the very least. It was an average two story house covered in blue paint because of Sokka and filled with some flowers because of Suki.

"That's our house over there at the end of the market." Sokka said. Aang looked at it and thought it was a bit to pricey for them both. Sokka looked and smiled.

"You're probably wondering about the price of the house." Sokka said. Aang nodded at him.

"How were you guys able to get a house and all?" Aang asked.

"Courtesy of the Earth Kingdom for playing a big part in the war. Now before I leave is there any other questions you have for me?" Sokka asked. Aang forgot that he was here to see Toph in order to see if she was able to stand six more months with her parents.

"Yeah I was going to-" Aang was cut off.

"If you want to visit Toph she was wandering by the market." Sokka cut off. He knew he was here after Toph.

"How'd you know?" Aang asked. Sokka started running opposite of where Aang was standing since he really needed to hurry up. Never keep your girlfriend if you know what's good for you. Especially if your girlfriend is a Kyoshi Warrior.

"Just a hunch. Now see you later Aang." Sokka said. With that he left the airbender by himself. Now onto more important business: Finding the blind earthbender. He would be surprised if Toph was actually able to handle going back to her family for six months. Not only that, but soon after he left he began to have these weird feelings every time he would think about Toph. He'd only remember having that tender feeling when he was in love with Katara, but this was Toph no way could he love her. **(A/N: Ah but that's the full purpose of this fanfic. If not then why write it right? FOR TAANG ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).** Besides even if he did like her there'd be no way in hell she would return those feelings to him. He'd have a better chance of teaching Toph how to swim than her falling for Aang. The Avatar walked around the market trying to follow Sokka's direction to locate the little blind earthbender, but to no avail. Then a figure walked behind him and poked his shoulder.

"Sir you seem lost are you looking for someone?" The mysterious person said. Aang turned around to face the person who was trying to get his attention.

"Well yeah I'm looking for this tiny-" Aang then swallowed as he saw Toph was the person who poked him.

"Go on finish what you were gonna say. I _**Dare You**_." Toph said. Aang wasn't an idiot. Well Toph may say otherwise. But he clearly heard the edge to her voice. So just like any sane person he tried evading the problem.

"Nothing I said nothing." Aang said.

'So what brings you back to the Earth Kingdom Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"You're clearly not dropping the nickname are you?" Aang asked.

"Yeah no. Anyway you didn't answer my question. Did you want to come to see me?' Toph teased.

"Well yeah honestly." Aang said.

"So what did you want to come see me for?" Toph asked.

"Well I was actually wondering if you were able to stand your parents for six months." Aang said.

"Honestly it hasn't been all that bad. They kinda gave me my personal space and I have no complaints about that." Toph said.

"So everything's gone smoothly I presume?" Aang asked.

"Well not entirely. My parents want to raise me as a noble daughter so they've been trying to get me involved with some arranged marriages." Toph said disgustingly.

"Wait aren't you a little too young for that?" Aang asked.

"Funny you would say that Twinkle Toes." Toph retorted.

"Well for your information I'm a hundred years older than you." Aang pointed out.

"Anyway to answer your question. Yes I'm a little young for that, but they think it's better to choose now since I need to grow as a woman. Whatever that means." Toph said,

"And you're okay with that?" Aang asked in surprise.

"No way. I told them if I was to marry some loser I would rather be married of to you." Toph said. Multiple swords stabbed Aang right in his pride and dignity after what Toph had told her parents.

"Great to know where I stand on your list." Aang said dejected.

"Relax Twinkle Toes. It's not like I'm getting married anytime soon." Toph said.

"And why's that?" Aang asked. Toph stared at Aang and gave him a big smile.

"Well that's easy. So we could have more adventures together you airhead. Oh and quick reminder if I ever get an arranged marriage I want you to tell my parents that you want to marry me." Toph said. Aang's jaw dropped as Toph said that. To say he was surprised was an understatement. He was dropped the biggest bomb he could possibly think of. Not only that, but she said it so plainly as if she ordered him to go get a carton of milk.

"AND WHY WOULD I DO THAT?" Aang shouted.

"Quit making such a deal out of it. Besides my parent's have so much respect for you after you defeated the Fire Lord so they would gladly listen to anything that comes out of that big pie hole of yours, even if you did kidnap their daughter.' Toph said. Aang facepalmed after what Toph said.

"Don't tell me they're still mad over that?" Aang asked.

"Well not as much as when you did it the first time." Toph said. Aang couldn't stand to think the idea of him marrying Toph and facing her parents after what they accused him for. This was all too much for him. He was starting to feel sick just thinking of all of that.

"Can we just please change the subject?" Aang asked.

"Oh sure. So what have you been up to these past six months?" Toph asked.

"Well I've been training like crazy that's for sure." Aang said.

"I don't think you've been training hard enough." Toph said.

"Want to bet. I've training so much that it's actually left some scars." Aang said.

"Well I doubt it since you weren't able to find one single earthbender." Toph teased.

"Oh shut it Toph." Aang said.

"Hey what do you say you come to my house?" Toph asked.

"Sure." Aang said. Toph started walking towards her house as Aang followed suit.

"Alright then follow me Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Oh and by the way that thing you call a house isn't even considered a house. More like a mansion." Aang pointed out.

"Well if it's anything that maintains me with a roof I'm satisfied to call it a house." Toph said.

"You don't seem to be bothered by living small.' Aang said.

'Well honestly I don't like living large 'cuz that's too excessive and boring for me. Honestly I would like to live small with my family." Toph said.

"Well it's seems you've matured over these six months after all." Aang said.

"What do you mean Twinkle Toes? I've always had that notion. If I do get married and have kids I'd like to live small." Toph said.

"Once you marry that so called 'guy' you can be sure that I will be the first to pray for him." Aang said.

"Yeah yeah keep talking Twinkle Toes. Anyway we're almost there." Toph said.

"How about we race over there?" Aang asked.

"You just got here and the first thing you want to do is challenge the world's greatest earthbender." Toph asked. Aang felt dignified as soon as Toph asked her question.

"Yeah and what of it?" Aang said.

"Well all I can tell you Twinkle Toes it to get ready to eat my dust." Toph said.

"You're on Toph." Aang said. Toph took a head start as she completely left Aang chasing after her. Both of them could be seen from afar at the speed and distance they were both running.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang was left on the floor exhausted. Sure he spent his time training for six months, but he can obviously tell he wasn't the only one training while he was gone. He knew Toph must've been training as him or even more.

"What's wrong Twinkle Toes you out of breath already?" Toph asked.

"Yeah I am. What of it?" Aang asked.

"Well that just means you didn't train as hard as I did." Toph said.

"Or maybe because you have a stronger will than I do." Aang said.

"Yeah no. I trained you personally and I can honestly say that you're a bigger hard head than I. Besides I know your full potential." Toph said.

"I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult." Aang said.

"Yeah when do you know? Anyway take it how you want." Toph said.

"Sure why not?' Aang replied. Toph started walking towards the entrance while dragging the Avatar behind her.

"Anyway we have to introduce you to my parents before anything Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

'You're going to call me that in front of them aren't you?" Aang asked. Toph just smiled as she dragged him.

"Well naturally.." Toph said.

"I don't even know why I'm still asking this question if I already know the answer?" Aang said as he thought aloud.. Both of them started walking towards the entrance and through the door opening to a big hallway. Just as soon as they took their first few steps into the hallway they were interrupted by someone. Aang stuck out her hand stopping Aang.

"Well looks like they found us." Toph said.

"And who exactly found us?" Aang asked.

"Well who else Twinkle Toes? My parents. Well my mom actually. But once my mom starts somehow my dad will follow up as well." Toph said.

"You're making it sound like it's a bad thing if your parents find us." Aang said.

"I'm just telling you what's going to happen. Oh and remember what I told you. If they mention anything about already marrying me off to someone you step in and tell them you want to marry me." Toph said.

'Yeah no I'm not doing that." Aang said.

"Alright thanks Twinkles." Toph said.

"You're not listening are you?" Aang asked.

"Shh. Twinkle Toes they're here already." Toph said. Just as soon as she said that Toph's mother, Poppy Beifong, found them and started walking towards them. She briefly paused as she saw the Avatar next to her daughter.

"Toph sweetie where have you been?" Poppy asked sweetly.

"Well I was just wandering off in the market." Toph said.

"Looks like you found a friend." Poppy said. Toph smiled and started patting Aang in his shoulder

"Yeah look what the cat dragged back." Toph said.

"Do you have to be this harsh to me?" Aang asked. Toph heard and completely ignored as to what Aang asked.

"What are you talking about?' Toph asked. Poppy looked at her daughter and Aang bickering and smiled at their actions. They looked like an old married couple in her eyes.

"Well what brings you here Avatar?" Poppy asked.

"Could you please call me Aang ma'am? I just don't like being called Avatar all the time." Aang said.

"Yeah unless you want any noble to listen to you then you overuse your title." Toph mumbled. This statement went unnoticed while Poppy and Aang were still having their conversation.

"Oh alright I'll call you by your birth name Aang." Poppy said.

"Thank you Mrs. Beifong. Anyway I came to the Earth Kingdom to come see your daughter." Aang said. This struck Poppy's curiosity. She wondered if he wanted to marry their daughter.

"And why did you come want to see my daughter?" Poppy asked.

"Well we made a little wager six months ago when we were celebrating the defeat of the Fire Nation." Aang said.

"Oh I see and did she win your little 'wager' Aang?" Poppy asked.

"Well by the looks of it I think she did." Aang said.

"After all of this Aang you must be hungry from all your traveling are you not?" Poppy asked. Aang's stomach started rumbling a little bit as soon as she mentioned food.

"I am beginning to feel a little peckish." Aang said. Poppy clapped her hands in pleasure.

"Well then the servants will start cooking for lunch. You can come and eat with us by that time." Poppy said. Aang started bowing to show respect to Toph's mother.

"Thank you very much Mrs. Beifong." Aang said.

"No need to thank me. It's the least I can do after you've done so much for our daughter." Poppy said.

"Well even so I still have to show my gratitude towards you." Aang said. Toph decided to interrupt the conversation since she was growing bored of listening to these two talk.

"So we should come back in a little bit right?" Toph asked.

"Yes dear. Oh and before I forget your father is going to be joining us for lunch, sweetie." Poppy said.

"Oh ok good to know." Toph said. She started dragging Aang towards the exit since she needed to be entertained and her listening to her mother and Aang talking was not a form of entertainment in her eyes. **(A/N: Yeah I know she can't see.)**

"Oh Aang do you by any chance have anywhere to stay the night?" Poppy asked.

"Eh no. I was actually planning of finding like a small room in the Earth Kingdom or something to that extent." Aang said.

"Nonsense. You can get spend your time remaining here in our home Aang." Poppy said.

"Really? Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother Mrs. Beifong." Aang said.

"Yes really. You can stay here with us." Poppy said. Aang scratched his head in embarrassment as he was starting blushing

"Well then I really don't know what to say." Aang said.

"Oh you don't need to say anything. Now run along Aang. Toph looks like she's bored. She needs entertainment from her future husband." Poppy said. Teasing Aang like that as he began to choke and her daughter was starting to blush a little.

"Well see you later mom." Toph said. She tried getting away from their before her mom kept teasing Aang and her.

"See you later sweetie. Oh and you should probably show Aang around." Poppy said. Little did she know that Aang already knows pretty much everything in the Earth Kingdom.

"Yeah I will do that.' Toph said,

"When then I'll leave you two lovebirds by yourselves." Poppy mumbled to herself. She started laughing as soon as Toph dragged Aang towards the exit. They looked like such and adorable couple. Though she noticed that if they were in a relationship Toph would be the one wearing the pants even if it's very unladylike of her.

 _He's probably the one for her. Whether Toph wants to admit it or not._ Poppy thought to herself. She then walked off to her room to finish some business.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph and Aang were walking down by the market where they were a few minutes ago. They both walked in silence as Toph tried as hard to be entertained, but it seemed that wasn't happening since she's recognized almost everything in the six months that Aang was gone.

"Well it seems your parents have changed since the last time I saw them. Well your mom actually. I don't know about your dad." Aang said as he broke the silence between them two.

"My dad is the same as my mom. Although it did take him longer to actually change between the two." Toph said.

"Oh good to know. At least they don't hate me as much." Aang pointed out.

"Anyway, I'm bored Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"And what exactly do you want me to do?" Aang asked.

"Entertain me." Toph said.

"Yeah I'm not doing that." Aang said.

"You've done it before. Why won't you do it now?" Toph asked.

"Fine then. How about if I talk about what I did during the six months that I was gone?" Aang asked.

"I don't know. What if it was boring?" Toph asked. At this point Aang was starting not to care since he knew what kind of person Toph was.

"Fine then. I won't talk about it." Aang said.

"I didn't ask anyway." Toph said. The local pedestrians all looked at them and smiled as they walked by. To all them Aang and Toph looked like a cute couple arguing over the smallest of things. Aang tried not to notice, but it was quite obvious. He then walked toward Toph and poked her shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey um Toph. I think these people are looking at us." Aang said.

"You just realized that? They've been looking at us for quite some time Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Well then what should we do?" Aang asked.

"That's easy. Just ignore them." Toph said.

"Well then ok I guess?" Aang asked. Both of them kept walking past the pedestrians. They kept at it with the small talk until they went past the market and headed towards an empty field.

"Looks like we lost track of time." Toph said. Aang was confused as to what she said. He then turned around and saw that they were beyond the marketplace.

"Oh looks like we have." Aang said

"So then tell me something Twinkle Toes. Are we still doing what you promised that we were gonna do after the war?" Toph asked.

"And what promise would that be?" Aang asked.

"You know. That we'll continue with our adventure even after this war." Toph said.

"Oh sure. Just tell me when you want to depart Toph." Aang said.

"All I can tell you is that It'll be soon." Toph said. Aang then smiled at Toph waiting until the day they can continue on their adventure.

"Well then I'll wait until that day comes." Aang said.

"You know what Twinkle Toes. Now that I've thought about I actually want to hear what you were doing those last six months." Toph requested.

"Oh what's with this sudden turn of events? If I recall correctly you're the one that questioned if my adventures were boring." Aang said.

"Well yeah, but I grew curious." Toph said.

"They do say curiosity kills the cat." Aang said.

"Eh yeah sure whatever you say. Anyway before you tell what you did could you please start from the beginning." Toph said.

"Sure why not. So let's see as soon as I left I went back to the Western Air Temple and continued on with my training in every single place that you and Zuko trained me-"

"Doesn't seem like that to me." Toph interrupted

"Anyways." Aang continued as he was interrupted. "Afterwards I said my goodbyes to the old place since I wasn't going to see for a while. Then I went flying on top of Appa traveling around and we kind of got lost-"

"This is what happens when we leave you by yourself. Please continue with your story don't mind me." Toph laughed as she interrupted Aang again.

"Whatever you say." Aang continued. "While we were lost some of exploring was fun and the other part well… not so much." Aang said. Toph looked at him with a confusing look.

"What exactly do you mean?" Toph asked.

"Well when we were looking around I stumbled into this tiny village. Once I got a closer look at it I felt my heart drop. This place was so bad. They were barely able to survive on food and their water system wasn't anywhere near decent." Aang solemnly said. Toph felt Aang's vibrations change. She felt him going from a calm state into a sad one. She then put a hand on his shoulder.

"Did you at least help them out?" Toph asked.

"Of course I did. You know me Toph, I couldn't stand to see a place so depressed. Especially those kids I saw. The look they had on their face was filled of hurt. Their parent's expression was no different. So, I decided to go speak with the village leader, or in this case the village elder." Aang said.

"So why'd you want to speak with him?" Toph asked.

"Well that's obvious. So I can see if I can help out. But he said that their village had been going through a drought for about a few years. At the time I wanted to use my water bending to see if I can help out, but then I realized that it wasn't a good idea." Aang said.

"Why's that?" Toph asked.

"If I showed them who I was they probably would've relied on my powers and that wouldn't solve their problems." Aang said.

"So what did you try doing?" Toph asked.

"Well the easiest thing to do was creating a well for them. But there was a problem." Aang said.

"Which was?" Toph asked.

"Well for starters the elder told me that this place was completely dry. Also some of the people there were starting to dislike me since they didn't like change." Aang said.

"Since the place was dry what did you do?" Toph asked. Aang looked at her and gave her a big grin.

"I dug and kept digging underground." Aang said.

"Of course you did. You're so stubborn I should've seen that coming." Toph said.

"But you're blind aren't you?" Aang asked. Toph punched Aang in his shoulder. He was half expecting that reaction from her.

"So what happened afterwards?" Toph said.

"Well I spent the next six months finding water. After two months the people of the village started helping me. In return I helped them learn how to bend their natural element." Aang said.

"Did you find water?" Toph asked.

"Yeah. After they made the well they kept a lake near there as well. Get this they called the tiny lake Aang's Rivulet." Aang said.

"You and your stupid adventures." Toph said.

"Yeah and what of them?" Aang questioned.

"Nothing. Anyway let's head back for lunch Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Fine then. Lead the way Toph." Aang said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Once they were back to the Beifong manor they headed straight to the dining area. Throughout that whole trip Toph realized how much Aang had matured after the war. Although she would never say out loud, but sometimes she would worry over what Aang would do. In the dining arena Toph's parents, Poppy and Lao Beifong were waiting for the two of them.

"Hello there Toph and Aang." Lao said.

"Hello there to you to sir." Aang said.

"Oh no need for formality. You can just call me Lao." Lao said.

"I'll try." Aang said.

"Anyway what brings you here Aang?" Lao asked. Aang didn't feel like repeating himself so he just decided to keep it short.

"Just visiting." Aang responded.

"Now now dear let's not bombard him with questions. Instead let's enjoy this lunch." Poppy said.

"You're right dear. Besides I have some business to attend to afterwards." Lao said. With that they started enjoying their lunch. But it can't be a normal lunch without Toph messing with Aang. She stomped lightly on the floor causing Aang to move his spoon and dropping some of the hot stew on hm. Toph lightly chuckled at Aang's 'clumsiness.'

"It looks like you spilled some food on yourself." Toph said. Aang stared at her as she was being sarcastic and pretty much working on his nerves.

"Yeah I wonder how that happened?" Aang asked.

"It's probably because you're so clumsy Twinkle Toes." Toph said. Toph's parents started laughing at the nickname Toph gave Aang.

"Twinkle Toes? Why do you exactly call him that dear?" Poppy asked. Toph looked at her mother and gave her a smile.

"Well that's because he's very light on his feet. Besides I can tell who he is right away from his footsteps." Toph said.

"Does he respond to that nickname? It's not very manly of him if he does." Lao said Aang was mumbling about blind earthbenders and the annoyance it puts on him.

"Oh you better believe he responds to that name." Toph said. Aang's pride and dignity kept being stepped on by Toph and now her father as well.

"Yeah well I have no choice or else she won't leave me alone." Aang mumbled.

"What was that Twinkles Toes?" Toph asked.

"And it continues on." Aang said.

"Well at least we know you two get along." Poppy said.

"Yeah she seems a little more tame with him. How do you do it Aang? How do you keep her calm?" Lao asked. Aang scratched his head and wondered the same thing.

"Actually I don't know if she's calmer with me. I mean all I know is that she likes messing with me a lot." Aang said.

"You know I'm right here?" Toph said.

"And that's exactly why we're talking." Poppy said. Aang and Toph's parents laughed at how embarrassed she got when they called her out.

"Well then I think I've eaten quite enough." Lao said.

"Yes it seemed like time flew right out the window." Poppy said. Aang looked and bowed to Toph's parents.

"Well thanks again for the meal." Aang said.

"Nonsense my dear it was our pleasure having you joined us for lunch." Poppy said.

"Yes truth be told, it seems like the is the nicest time that I've had lunch with my family in quite some time." Lao said.

"It was my pleasure being here." Aang said.

"Will you join us again for dinner?" Lao asked. Poppy patted onto Lao's shoulder as she completely forgot to the Lao about Aang's stay.

"Oh I forgot to tell you dear. Aang's going to be staying in one of the rooms here while he remains in the Earth Kingdom." Poppy said.

"Very well then. I'll be back for dinner. I hope that you can make in time as well Aang." Lao said.

"Yes I'll be back in time for dinner." Aang said. Toph was sitting there minding her own business until she got tired of listening to people talk since she was feeling bored.

"Anyway let's go do some stuff." Toph said. She started pulling Aang as she wasn't going to take no as an answer from him. Her parents laughed at how she interacted with the Avatar.

"Well see you around dearies." Poppy said.

"Yeah will see you later." Toph said. She kept dragging Aang until they got to the entrance and he finally got his footing back.

"So why'd you drag me out here?" Aang asked.

"Because it was starting to get boring in there." Toph said.

"Probably since you don't like socializing as much." Aang deduced.

"Hmm probably." Toph said.

"So the only reason you dragged me all the way from the dining area to the exit was because you WERE BORED?" Aang said as he shouted the last part. Toph smiled at Aang.

"Yeah that's exactly why I did it. Seems like you're getting smarter Twinkle Toes." Toph said. Aang facepalmed as he dreaded everything Toph was doing to him.

"Ughh what did I do to deserve this?" Aang moaned.

"Oh quit being a drama queen Twinkle Toes. Anyway what do you want to do since we have a whole lot of free time on our plate?" Toph asked. Aang was thinking as to what to do until he remembered something. He remembered that he promised to visit Sokka and Suki.

"Actually Toph I have to visit Sokka since I promised I would." Aang said.

"Oh ok. So do you know where Snoozles lives?" Toph asked.

"Sure I do." Aang said. He started walking towards the exit and stopped since he forgot where he lived.

"You forgot didn't you?" Toph asked.

"Yeah." Aang said. Toph shook her head in disbelief. This was the person who stopped the Fire Nation and it's leader.

"Typical Twinkle Toes. Follow me then." Toph said. She then dragged him as they were headed towards the market.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang had to follow Toph the whole way to Sokka and Suki's house since Aang completely forgot about where they lived and Toph had been there a few times since Suki insisted for her to visit them every once in awhile. Once they arrived there Aang knocked on the door waiting for them to open the door. Sokka could be heard rushing and cleaning the house since he forgot that Aang forgot was coming to visit them. As soon as he was done he opened the door and was surprised to see Toph tag along with Aang.

"Hey buddy how's it going?" Sokka asked.

"Hey Sokka it going pretty good I guess." Aang said.

"Not to seem rude, but what brings you here Toph?" Sokka asked.

"Well Twinkle Toes over here forgot where you guys live. So I had to come show him the directions on getting here." Toph said.

"I showed you where we lived and you forgot?" Sokka asked.

"Sorry sorry it completely slipped my mind." Aang said.

"It's alright buddy. Anyways come in Suki in the living room waiting for us." Sokka said. They followed Sokka into the living room and saw Suki sitting down on the couch waiting for them. Once she saw them walking in she jumped in excitement and hugged the both of them.

"Hi guys. It's been awhile hasn't it?" Suki asked.

"Well yeah the last time I saw any of you guys was about six months ago." Aang said.

"From what I hear the only person you said goodbye to was Toph." Suki teased.

"Seems like you're a little jealous." Toph said.

"Me? Jealous? I think you've got this twisted Toph. The person that seemed jealous was Sokka." Suki said.

"Is that right? So you were bothered by it Snoozles?" Toph asked.

"A little to be perfectly honest, but then Aang told me how he was helping you out with your personal problem." Sokka said.

"Whatever you say Snoozles." Toph said. Sokka was quite annoyed of the nickname given to him by Toph. Suki saw this and decided to change the subject.

"So Aang you must tell us what you've been doing these past six months I'm just eager to hear what you've up to." Suki said.

"Yeah same here." Sokka said.

"Well if you insist." Aang said. He then started telling the same story he told Toph. By the end of the story they were laughing at what Aang was able to pull off in under six months.

"So were there any lucky ladies to have caught the attention of the Avatar?" Sokka asked. Aang put his hand on his chin pondering at Sokka's question.

"Well there was this one girl who was getting near me a lot." Aang said. Toph then felt something stir in her stomach, but ignored it. Suki noticed and started smiling at how the blind earthbender was feeling a little jealous.

"Oh and pray tell what did you do?" Suki asked.

"Well I was just being friendly to her." Aang said.

"That's it? You mean to tell me you didn't find her attractive or anything at all?" Sokka asked.

"Well I mean she was pretty. But I didn't have the time to really get to know her since I was trying to help out the village." Aang said. Suki and Sokka both facepalmed while Toph just smirked. Typical Aang he would just do something like that.

"Wow." Sokka said.

They kept talking for a while telling each other stories and cracking jokes along the way. All four friends spent almost the whole day chatting and catching up. It only seemed like a few minutes, but like they say, time flies when you're having fun. Once Toph realized this she poked Aang to get his attention and look at the time.

"Well we have to get going guys. My parents are waiting so that we could eat dinner together." Toph said.

"Is it really that time already?" Aang asked.

"Well then we shouldn't keep you waiting then. It was nice catching up with you Aang." Suki said.

"Likewise." Aang replied.

"It was nice seeing you again buddy." Sokka said.

"Yeah it was nice seeing you again after all his time." Aang said.

"We should probably get going Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"You know I still don't understand how you keep responding to that nickname." Sokka said.

"At this point it's only natural for me to respond or else she'll just keep on annoying me." Aang sheepishly said.

"Makes sense." Sokka said. Aang and Toph were stood up and were headed towards the exit, but not before saying goodbye to his friends.

"Well anyway see you later guys." Aang said.

"See you later Aang." Suki said. Aang and Toph were soon walking out. Sokka and Suki saw them walk off into the distance.

"How much do you want to bet that Aang and Toph are going to hook up?" Suki asked.

"No way. Aang wouldn't' fall for someone like Toph." Sokka said.

"So how much?" Suki asked.

"You know I don't like having bets with you because I always lose them." Sokka said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

After they were done catching up with their friends Toph and Aang headed back to her house since her parents had invited Aang to dinner. They tried hurrying up since both of them were hungry. Once they walked in Toph's parents were waiting for them to eat.

"Sorry we took so long." Aang tried apologizing.

"I was just about to ask what took you slowpokes so long?" Lao asked.

"Well Twinkle Toes had to catch up with some friends of ours and he completely forgot where they lived so naturally I had to help him find where they live." Toph said.

"You mean that young man from the Water Tribe and the Kyoshi Warrior?" Poppy asked.

"Yeah exactly them two." Aang said.

"Well I hope you had a good time with them." Poppy said.

"I don't know about Toph, but I actually had a good time catching up with them." Aang said. Toph shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh I can't complain I guess." Toph said.

"Good to know. Now we can start eating." Lao said. Everyone knew that he just wanted to start eating. Truth be told no one could blame him. Everyone ate and tried cracking jokes even if they were hits or misses and they told stories about anything. Something then struck Aang. This is the first time he's actually felt like he was eating with a real family. It made him feel happy just thinking that. After everyone finished Lao decided he needed to talk with Aang about a certain matter.

"Aang could I please have a word with you in the balcony?" Lao asked.

"Oh sure. Lead the way." Aang said. Lao then walked off waiting for Aang to follow suit. After many turns and hallways they reached the balcony.

"Listen Aang I need to talk to you about something important." Lao said.

"What is it Lao?" Aang asked.

"Well for starters I'd like to apologize." Lao said.

"What for exactly?" Aang asked.

"For holding a grudge against you. For a while I didn't like the fact that you came and kidnapped my daughter. Not until Toph convinced me." Lao said.

"Oh ok. What's the other thing you wanted to talk with me about?" Aang asked.

"It's about Toph actually." Lao said.

"What about Toph?" Aang questioned.

"Well for starters I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for her." Lao said.

"I don't understand." Aang said.

"Well for starters Toph kind of had it difficult growing up. As you know we kept her hidden from the public so she didn't have any friends or anyone to talk to for that matter." Lao said.

"What does this have to do with me?" Aang asked still not understanding.

"Everything actually. I always thought if we pampered her with anything she wanted she would be happy. That seemed like that wasn't the case. In fact she resented us more because of that. It wasn't after that she met you that she began to change. She began to be more understandable, and more sympathetic to others. I don't know what you did to change her, but I want to thank you to for that." Lao bowed down to Aang.

"Look you don't need to bow. I should be thanking you instead." Aang said.

"And why's that Aang?" Lao asked.

"Well honestly she helped me turn into the person that I am today. She taught me what 'fighting will all you've got' meant. During the time she was training me before fight Ozai I was beginning to have second thoughts about fighting him. That happened a lot not to mention that. But she was there helping me every step of the way in order to help build my confidence. I don't understand how she was able to have that much patience with me. She's probably the only friend that I could depend on. Although she gets on my nerves sometimes I couldn't ask for a better friend." Aang finished. Lao was left speechless after all the Avatar spoke about his daughter.

"Do you trust her that much?" Lao asked.

"To be perfectly honest with you. I trust her with my life. Just like she does with me." Aang said.

"Tell me this Aang. Do you love my daughter?" Lao asked. Aang stared at him after the question that was just asked.

"I don't know. I don't know." Aang said.

"Would you choose to save her and let the rest of the world fall d or save the rest of the world and abandon her?" Lao asked. Aang couldn't answer that question since he did have feelings for her, but he's also the Avatar and it was his job to protect the world and maintain peace.

"I don't know. I just don't know. I just don't want Toph to get hurt for my sake." Aang said.

"I see. Then could I ask for a request?" Lao asked.

"If it's within my power I'll do it." Aang said.

"Alright, then could you please protect Toph?" Lao asked.

"You can bet your life that I'll protect her." Aang reassured. Lao sighed as he can finally rest easier knowing his daughter is in safe hands. With that conversation Lao bid Aang a goodnight. Just as he was leaving Toph was walking towards Aang.

"Hi Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Hey Toph." Aang said.

"So where you guys talking about anything important?" Toph asked.

"How much did you hear?" Aang asked.

"What do you mean?" Toph asked.

"I felt that you were within ear distance." Aang said.

"Looks like I don't need to keep pretending then." Toph said.

"So how much did you catch?" Aang asked.

"Just enough." Toph said. Aang turned away from her so that he wouldn't pressured to talk to Toph.

"That's good." Aang said. Toph then walked behind Aang and hugged from behind.

"Hey Toph what are yo-"

"Did you mean that promise?" Toph interrupted.

"What promise?" Aang asked.

"Do you promise to protect me with your life?" Toph asked. Aang then smiled at her question

"Of course in a blink of an eye. Just like you would with me." Aang said.

"Good." Toph said. They remained like that for a few more minutes. Toph's parents could be seen from the hallway smiling at her daughter and the Avatar. They knew that her daughter was in good hands thanks to the Avatar. Whether or not everyone was happy with the aftermath of the war the Blind Bandit and the Avatar sure were.

 **A/N: So hi. It's been a minute since I updated and well yeah there goes chapter 5. I'll post another chapter around the same time I took with this one. Even though this story has a small following I still enjoy when people actually give a crap to read this fanfic. To those of you who keep reading this story I want to thank you. Anyway there's some references in this chapter just like my previous chapters have had. If you spot them you will get a soda with licorice as a straw (I'm pretty sure some don't like that.) Thanks for reading and please if you could review that would be good. I appreciate you guys :))))**


	6. Chapter 6

**|Alright guys here's the sixth chapter of my ATLA story. How I've lasted this long is a mystery to me. So here you go please enjoy it.**

 **Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

 **"** Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 6: A New Face_

After Aang and Toph had their little moment Aang decided to stick around and help around the house. He spent another six months in the Earth Kingdom getting to know the place and its people. Besides getting to know it's people he even got closer to Toph and her parents. Her parents were pretty surprised to find her and Aang sleeping together even though they're not in a relationship at least not an intimate one. Well Poppy was ecstatic while Lao, not so much.

"How is it that they're still not together?" Lao asked.

"Let time do it's magic honey. Besides at least we don't have to worry about Toph's arranged marriage." Poppy said.

"Well I guess you're right. At least we won't have to go through interviews. Maybe these old bones of mine can finally get some rest." Lao said. Poppy looked at and wondered why he took Aang with him after dinner.

"So what happened last night?" Poppy asked. Lao gave her a quizzical look.

"About what dear?" Lao asked

"Why did you take Aang last night from the dinner table?" Poppy asked. Lao looked at her deep in her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Well just to chat." Lao said.

"Was that really all you were doing?" Poppy asked.

"Yes dear that's all we did." Lao reassured her.

"What did you two talk about?" Poppy asked.

"Well for starters I apologized for holding a grudge over him." Lao said.

"Is that so?" Poppy asked.

"And also, I simply wanted to know what he thought of our daughter and how far he is willing to go for her." Lao said.

"Well what did he tell you?" Poppy asked.

"He's willing to go as far as to give his life if she were on the verge of death. That's very foolish of him if I do say so myself." Lao said

"But dear-" Poppy said as she was cut off.

"However it's that foolhardiness of his that makes me hope more than ever that he can help our daughter." Lao said.

"It must've been quite a long talk." Poppy said.

"Well it was worth it. I'm telling you I haven't seen a kid with this kind of promise in ages. When he decides he wants to marry our daughter I will gladly give him my approval." Lao said,

"Is that so? Well I guess I'll have to believe in him as well." Poppy said.

"However there's only something that bothered me last night." Lao said. Poppy looked at her husband with a confusing look.

"And what's that?" Poppy asked.

"Well after asking him about Toph and hearing his response I started to get a little worried." Lao said.

"Worried? That's a new one. Why were you worried about his response?" Poppy asked.

"Well I don't know if that's the mentality he should have while protecting Toph." Lao said.

"But you were just complimenting his ideals." Poppy said.

"I know I did it's just…" Lao trailed off.

"It's just what?" Poppy asked.

"If he were to lose the thing that he cares the most for he will be a broken man. I've only seen someone so broken once in my life. I don't want him to have that same look. I think that's why he couldn't give me a straight answer." Lao said.

"Wasn't him protecting Toph the answer you were looking for?" Poppy asked.

"Yes and No." Lao said.

"I don't understand." Poppy said.

"After I was done hearing what he had to say I asked him a question that I once heard: Am I willing to save the one person I love and let the rest of the world die or am I willing to save the world, but let the person I love die." Lao said.

"What was Aang's answer?" Poppy asked.. Lao looked away from Poppy and saw Toph and Aang sleeping next to each other.

'That's just it, he didn't have one. I could tell he clearly cares for Toph, but he's also the Avatar and it's his job to save the world no matter what." Lao solemnly said.

"Well when the time comes we'll support him no matter what, regardless of who or what he chooses to save first." Poppy said.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Lao said.

"Of course I'm right when am I never right." Poppy said. While both of them kept bickering they suddenly stopped when they heard someone stirring from their sleep. Once they heard that they decided it was time to leave.

"We should get out of here." Poppy said.

"I'm right behind you dear." Lao said. Poppy then looked behind her as she saw Toph waking up from her slumber and she smiled inwardly.

 _I'm going to have so much fun teasing Toph later._ Poppy thought to herself. As Toph was waking up she felt arms around her and to say she was surprised was an understatement. She gave no time for her brain to think and socked the mysterious person next to her. Aang woke with a start as he was holding his head in pain.

"Well good morning to you too Toph." Aang said.

"Oh that was you Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"Well who did you think it was?" Aang asked.

"Eh I didn't have time to process the situation so I struck instead." Toph reasoned.

"Great justification." Aang mumbled.

"Anyway what are you doing here Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked.

"I don't know. One minute I was asleep the next I was thinking about you and here I am." Aang said.

"Oh so you couldn't handle sleeping by yourself? Hey that's cool just announce yourself next time." Toph teased. Aang looked towards the door as he didn't feel like listening to Toph's teasing early in the morning.

"Yeah yeah whatever." Aang mumbled.

"You seem a little grumpy." Toph said.

"Are those the vibrations I'm giving off?" Aang asked

"Yes that's why I asked Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Well no I'm not grumpy just a little tired is all. I mean I usually don't wake up for another hour, but when you wake up to a fist in the morning then we have some problems." Aang said.

"How could you be grumpy after sleeping with someone like me Twinkle Toes?" Toph teased.

"You're not going to stop huh?" Aang asked. Out of nowhere a rumble could be heard from somewhere. Toph looked around and found that the culprit was none other than Aang's stomach. He looked at her and blushed.

"Sorry about that." Aang said.

"Why didn't you tell me you're hungry Twinkles." Toph said. She stood up off the bed and walked over to Aang's side and started dragging him out of bed and taking him to the dining area.

"Where are we exactly going Toph?" Aang asked. Toph looked back at him and gave him a grin.

"Where do you think we're going? To the dining area. Jeez Twinkle Toes sometimes I wonder if there's a brain in that thick skull of yours." Toph said.

"One of these days I'm going to make you regret everything you've done to me." Aang mumbled to himself. He thought Toph couldn't hear his little retort and boy was he wrong. As soon as he said those words Toph halted.

"Is there something you wanted to say _Aang?_ Come on now don't be shy." Toph said calmly. Aang panicked a little trying to avoid Toph's colorless eyes.

"No, I didn't say anything at all Toph." Aang said.

"So now you're calling me a liar?" Toph asked in anger. Aang mentally slapped himself.

 _What does it take to satisfy her?_ Aang thought to himself. Aang then ran and dragged Toph along with him.

"Don't worry about it. Instead let's go eat because I'm starving." Aang said as he swiftly changed the subject. Toph exhaled in annoyance.

"Just this once I'll drop it since I'm getting hungry too." Toph mumbled.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Once Toph and Aang arrived to the dining table Toph's parents were waiting for them. Toph's mother looking at both of them with a small grin. Aang gulped as he was way too familiar with that kind of grin.

 _So that's where Toph gets that grin from_ _huh?_ Aang thought to himself.

"It's about time the two of you got here. We were just about to start eating without you two." Lao said.

"I probably would've missed breakfast today anyway." Aang sheepishly said.

"So why did you wake up Aang?" Poppy asked mischievously. As soon as she asked that question Aang looked at Toph and she could feel his gaze upon her.

"Well if you must know. I received a pretty good wake up call a few minutes and that pretty ended my sleep." Aang said.

"Well did you end up sleeping a little late last night Aang?" Poppy asked.

"That's an understatement." Toph mumbled to herself.

"Huh? Did you say something Toph?" Aang asked.

"Uh no. I was just saying how that explains a lot." Toph said.

"Anyway, I did sleep a little later than usual Mrs. Beifong." Aang chuckled.

"Oh I see. Well if you keep at it you won't be able to maintain yourself at full strength. Knowing my daughter she's not going to go easy on you if you start slacking off." Lao said. Toph and Aang both looked at each other as if they were reading each other's mind.

"Well to be perfectly honest, Toph's not going to go easy on whether I get enough sleep or not." Aang sheepishly said.

"That's right you're not getting any breaks unless I say so." Toph triumphantly said. Lao looked at Aang with sympathy.

"Well instead of arguing we should probably start eating before this food ends cold and going to waste." Poppy recommended.

"Yeah you're probably right honey." Lao said.

Poppy and Lao looked at how Aang and Toph were interacting with one another and just smiled. Poppy smiled because she found it really adorable while Lao smiled because he felt pity for Aang as he's got a long road to go through. All in all breakfast was now going to be like this since Toph has found herself someone whom she can argue with besides her teacher she once had before meeting Aang.

 _All I wanted was just a normal breakfast._ Aang thought in agony as Toph kept messing with him.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"Well that breakfast sure did hit the sweet spot." Toph belched . Aang stared at Toph with amazement.

 _And she's supposed to be from a family of nobility?_ Aang thought to himself.

"Yeah I know what you're thinking Twinkles Toes. 'What manners from a Beifong.' Honestly, I thought you would've realized by now that I don't care what others think about me." Toph said.

"Yeah I already knew that it's just that every once in awhile I forget that." Aang justified.

"Well let's go do something cuz I'm getting bored being stuck in here." Toph said.

Aang looked around noticing how big the Beifong manor was. Honestly one could lost in that place if they didn't know the place.

"Well can't we wait for a little bit. We just ate and I need for my food to go down or else it's going to come back the way it entered." Aang requested of the little blind earthbender.

"Honestly, we're just gonna walk around trying to see what we're gonna today. It hardly requires any actual physical activity." Toph said.

"Yeah I know, but I don't want to risk it." Aang smiled.

"You're just trying to do nothing today aren't you?" Toph interrogated.

"Yeah I want to do something. It's just I don't want to do anything right now. I just ate so I don't feel like moving so much." Aang said.

"But for some reason your mouth doesn't get tired of doing exercise," Toph pointed out.

"Fine you want to do something right now?" Aang asked.

"Well duh, why do you think I'm trying to get your lazy butt to get up and do something." Toph said.

"Well then, how about a burping contest." Aang chuckled.

"You honestly think you have a chance a beating me at a burping contest?" Toph asked.

"Yeah I actually do." Aang said.

"Well you couldn't even beat me in hand to hand combat training, what makes you think that you're going to beat me in one of my specialties?" Toph asked.

"Are you going to keep talking or are we actually going to compete?" Aang retorted

"Alright there's gotta be a wager though." Toph said.

"Well obviously, this wouldn't be any fun if there wasn't a wager to go along with this competition." Aang said.

"How about who ever wins has to follow the orders of the winner for the rest of the day?" Toph suggested.

"That's a deal. May the best belcher win." Aang said while waiting to shake Toph's hand in agreement.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang moaned as he sat next to Toph.

"How did I lose? I made sure to use my airbending to my advantage." Aang cried.

"Wow, so not only did I kick your butt, but I also beat you when you were cheating. You've got to be the worst cheater that I've ever met." Toph exhaled in disappointment.

"Look we both know I let you win Toph." Aang defended himself.

"Stop trying to save face Twinkle Toes. Just admit it that I'm better than you and that I beat you." Toph said.

"You know I could beat you Toph." Aang said.

"Yeah yeah whatever you say Twinkle Toes. It's not like I've heard those words before." Toph said.

"Fine whatever," Aang mutter under his breath hoping Toph wouldn't catch that.

"Glad you see things my way Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Umm… Toph? Aang asked.

"Yeah I heard what I just said." Toph said.

"Yeah ok I was just pointing it out." Aang said.

"Ok let's forget about what I just said. Anyway aren't you forgetting something?" Toph asked.

"Hmm.. Not that I remember. Why?" Aang rubbed his chin pondering.

"You really are just an airhead. Did you seriously just forget about our wager. You've got to do what I say for the rest of the day." Toph grinned.

"Oh isn't that just fantastic." Aang sarcastically said.

"Glad to hear it Twinkle Toes. Now follow me." Toph joyously said.

"As long as it has nothing to with training for the time being, I will gladly follow you." Aang said. As soon as Aang said those words Toph turned her head to look at Aang with a sweet smile, making Aang shiver.

"Who says you get an opinion on what we're gonna do? If I remember correctly you do what I say, whether you like it or not. If I tell you to jump a cliff you do it. If I tell you to make out with Snoozles- Actually he might actually like it. Ok forget that, if I tell you to make out with Sparky you do it." Toph said.

"YOU'RE CRAZY IF YOU THINK I'M DOING THAT." Aang shouted.

"Glad you see things my way." Toph said, walking towards the exit.

"You clearly ignored every word I just said huh Toph?" Aang asked.

"What's that I couldn't quite hear you Twinkle Toes." Toph said as she kept walking further from Aang, pretending not to hear what Aang was saying to her.

"Ughh… Nevermind Toph." Aang said in defeat as he followed Toph.

"You might wanna catch up before I end up leaving you Twinkle Toes." Toph said, leaving Aang behind. Knowing that she wasn't one to lie nor slow down for anyone Aang had to pick up the pace a little so he won't get left behind.

"Alright now that I caught up, ya mind explaining where we're going?" Aang asked. Toph stopped and looked smiled.

"Hmm… I don't know yet. We'll see where the wind blows." Toph said as she continued walking. Aang moaned as he was dissatisfied with Toph's answer, but he still followed her. As they walked out of the Beifong's estate they argued over the pettiest of things such as why eating meat is better than eating plants or who Aang should make out with first- Sokka or Zuko. Aang kept arguing with Toph that he's not making out with either of them.

Once they got to the Marketplace they walked in silence as they ran out of things to argue with. As they walked, Aang would notice that people were pointing at Toph and him muttering and whispering things to one another. Every now and then he would hear them saying things such as, " _Oh the Avatar and the Beifong's daughter are a couple now. That's so adorable."_ Aang on the other hand disagreed with those statements. Aang would look at Toph from time to time to see if she reacted to any of those comments because he would naturally have to stop her from attacking any civilian. However, once Aang walked towards Toph he saw that Toph was a little red.

"Hey Toph you're looking a little red from over here. Are you okay?" Aang asked. Toph stopped as she mentally slapped herself. Of course she was a little red. Some of the conversations she overheard from the pedestrians talking about Aang and her would have anyone turning red.

"Yeah, I'm fine it's just the heat is coming on stronger today." Toph said.

"Oh right. That makes sense I guess." Aang said. Toph thought of places of where they could get a quick stop so she can avoid overhearing gossips about her and Aang. Then, it finally hit her.

"Let's go visit an old friend." Toph said.

"You're talking about Iroh and his tea shop aren't you Toph?" Aang asked.

"You know me too well Twinkle Toes." Toph said smirking at Aang.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Aang said.

"Hold up Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"What was it now?" Aang asked.

"Give me a piggyback ride all the way to the tea shop." Toph ordered.

"Why should I?" Aang asked.

"Let me think well maybe- and just bear with me on this one, maybe because you lost the one bet you thought you could beat me." Toph said.

"Ughh… You're not making things easier for Toph." Aang said. Toph laughed at his expression and patted his back.

"Oh come on, lighten up Twinkle Toes. You know that's my job. I'm never going to make things easier for you and you're gonna have to get used to it." Toph smiled. Aang exhaled in defeat as squatted down waiting for Toph to get on.

"Well come on. Let's get going Toph." Aang said.

As soon as she was getting on the murmuring around them was getting louder. Aang would notice girls blushing as soon Toph got on his back. The comments and rumors being spread by the pedestrians would make Aang blush. Hopefully he wouldn't be the only one who blushing as hard. Toph just waited for Aang to start walking toward the Jasmine Dragon, but noted that Aang wasn't doing anything. She slapped the back of Aang's head so he'd snap out of it.

"Well what are you waiting for Twinkle Toes?" Toph said.

"Oh uh… Nothing I'm going." Aang said.

About a few minutes into the walk Aang would get used to murmurings of others as he was carrying Toph in his back. Toph on the other hand would start to lose her patience the more she kept hearing her name and Aang's involved in some sort of romantic relationship.

"Well Toph how ya hanging up there?" Aang asked.

"It's fine just wanting you to go a little faster to get there." Toph said.

"Fine I'll go faster, but you're gonna regret saying that." Aang said.

"Wait what are you-" Toph said.

"LET'S GO." Aang shouted as he used his airbending to his advantage. Toph gripped her arms around Aang as she had no time to react to Aang's actions. In a matter of seconds they arrived to the Jasmine Dragon.

"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN. YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT LEAVING THE GROUND." Toph shouted at Aang.

"Well you're the one that wanted me to go faster." Aang reasoned.

"Ugh… Never mind. there's no point in arguing now that we're here." Toph said.

"Let's get going Toph. I'm dying to drink some of Iroh's tea." Aang said.

"You said it Twinkle Toes." Toph said in excitement. Both of them walked into the Jasmine Dragon and noticed how quiet the place was. Usually the Jasmine Dragon would be full of upper class people, like the Beifongs. However, today only a few people were found at the teashop.

"Well if it isn't Aang and Toph?" said a familiar face from a far.

"How's it hangin'?" Toph asked.

"And hello to you Toph." Iroh said.

"It seems a little quieter than usual huh?" Aang asked.

"Well, business is going slower than usual, but I'm not complaining. It's nice having a little bit piece of quiet once in a while before the customers overflow the place." Iroh said.

"Huh you'd think someone died or something." Toph said. Aang caught her slip and he elbowed her.

" _ **Toph**_." Aang said trying to get her to correct her mistake.

"What? What did I- Oh shoot. My bad Iroh I didn't mean-" Toph said remembering about Iroh's son. Iroh laughed at Toph's expression leaving both Toph and Aang in confusion.

"Oh there's no harm done. I know you didn't mean it Toph." Iroh said.

"Could I please get some of your deliciou tea?" Aang asked.

"Why certainly." Iroh said as her started walking away to prepare the tea.

"Make that another for me as well." Toph added. While they were waiting Aang excused himself to the restroom, since the food from breakfast was starting to kick in.

"Looks like you really are full of crap Twinkle Toes." Toph grinned.

"Shut up. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." Aang said.

"Aye-aye captain." Toph said. Once Aang left Toph noticed how boring her surroundings were. Not a single fight in the teashop. Granted it was tea shop, so fighting was out of the question.

 _It's pretty boring here without Twinkle Toes._ Toph thought to herself. She didn't understand how people can remain quiet and well mannered. It was completely boring. As she tried keeping herself occupied for a couple minutes Iroh showed up with their drinks.

"You're pretty quiet over here Toph." Iroh said bringing them their tea.

"Well yeah, it's because Twinkle Toes left to the restroom." Toph said. As soon as she said that Aang came back from his adventure at the restroom.

"Hey, Iroh that tea smells so good." Aang said.

"Speak of the devil." Toph mumbled.

"Did you say something Toph?" Aang asked not hearing what Toph said.

"Nothing. I said nothing. Anyway I have to go to the restroom." Toph said. Iroh smiled as he saw both benders bickering. As she left Aang decided to start drinking the tea without her.

"You seem pretty fond of each other." Iroh observed.

"Well she is my best friend and teacher." Aang reasoned.

"I see… Well that's not what it looks like from here." Iroh said.

"Well I… Wait what do you mean?" Aang asked

"That's for me to know and for you to find." Iroh said. Aang sighed out loud as Iroh spoke those words.

"You're not going to tell what I want to hear right?" Aang asked.

"That's one of the benefits of being old. I can say whatever I want and no one's going to understand what I was saying." Iroh said.

"Great." Aang mumbled.

"I will tell you this though. You have to tell that special person what your thinking or feeling because it might be your only opportunity. It's rare that you ever get a second chance so might as well take it. What do you think?" Iroh asked.

"Umm… Well I don't-" Aang said.

"Then let me tell you something. Opportunities don't wait for anyone. If you let an opportunity slip through your fingers with an excuse like, 'I wasn't prepared', you'll never get an opportunity like that again." Iroh said.

"I'll think about what you said Iroh. For some reason Sokka kinda said the same thing. Is there something both of you aren't telling me?" Aang asked. Iroh shrugged as Aang asked his question.

"Who knows, not me." Iroh said.

While they kept talking Toph strolled from her trip to the bathroom. As she was walking she overheard them talking and she was trying to hear if the conversation, even if it was a little. But Aang felt Toph's feet and turned around to see her with a smile.

"What took you so long? Ya get stuck or something Toph?" Aang asked.

"Ha-ha you're very funny Twinkle Toes." Toph sarcastically said.

"Well I try." Aang smiled.

"So how's the tea?" Toph asked.

"It's delicious and Iroh made a new batch since your's was kind of getting cold." Aang said.

"Well then I guess I better drink up." Toph said.

"So, has anything interesting happen around here?" Aang asked Iroh.

"Not really. Honestly it's better like this." Iroh said.

"Pretty boring around here if you ask me." Toph said.

"Well that 'boring' you speak about is essentially what peace is about." Aang said.

"Not necessarily young Avatar. It doesn't have to be boring. You could always create your own kind of fun to deal with that 'boringness'".

"Yeah, but if there's no one to fight it actually gets boring." Toph interjected.

"You could always just fight against the Avatar." Iroh said.

"It gets boring sparring against Twinkle Toes. Plus he's never beaten in the numerous fights we've had." Toph said.

"You really want to go there huh Toph?" Aang asked.

"Relax Twinkle Toes. It's not like you're gonna do anything anyway." Toph said.

 _Ah… This never gets old_. Iroh smiled to himself as he saw them bickering with each other.

"Are you two going to want more tea?" Iroh asked.

"No thanks. I've already filled my satisfaction of tea." Aang said.

"Yeah same here." Toph said.

"Well then I guess my services are no longer needed.." Iroh said. With that he walked to attend the next customers.

"Wait don't we have to pay you?" Aang asked. Iroh turned back and looked Aang.

"Oh don't worry about it. It's on the house." Iroh said.

"Well then, I think we should probably get going Toph." Aang said.

"Fine let's get going Twinkles." Toph said. As soon as they walked outside Aang looked at Toph.

"So where are we going to now?" Aang asked.

"You seemed irked." Toph noted.

"Not really I'm just being curious." Aang said.

"Well to answer your question I don't know where we're going." Toph answered.

"Great answer Toph." Aang said.

"I don't see why your complaining. Look at it like this: we've still got the whole day, so we'll go wherever the wind blows." Toph explained.

"I guess why not?" Aang asked. Toph smiled in excitement as she continuously patted Aang's back.

"Glad you see things my way." Toph said.

"Pitch black?" Aang asked.

"Great we've got ourselves a smart ass." Toph said. Aang gasped as Toph said that.

"Toph you said a bad word." Aang said,

"Oh that's the one thing you zeroed in on?" Toph asked.

"Now you know how I feel when you say stuff like that." Aang said.

"Ah whatever let's get going Twinkles." Toph said.

"Right behind ya Toph." Aang said as he followed suit.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So how are the preparations going along?" A mysterious man asked.

"Everything's almost done Lord Ukano. In a few days we'll have more recruits coming in." His soldier said.

"Good that's good. You may retire now." Ukano said.

"As you wish my Lord." The soldier said. As soon as he left Ukano stood up from his seat and walked towards the window and smiled.

"It won't be long before we remove your nephew from his title as Fire Lord and return what was taken from you Lord Ozai." Ukano said. His servant stood behind him and gave him a confusing look.

"My Lord might I ask something?" His servant said.

"You may." Ukano said.

"Will you be getting rid of the Avatar as well?" His servant asked.

"I will be getting rid of everyone who's attached to Zuko and the Avatar in order to send them a message: Nothing will get in my way of giving Lord Ozai what was wrongfully taken from him." Ukano said. His servant looked away from him and started walking towards the door,

"I see...well then I will be taking my leave." His servant said.

"Very well then you are excused." Ukano said. As soon as his servant left he started laughing maniacally.

 _With the amount of reinforcements coming it won't be difficult of getting rid of the Avatar and Zuko._ Ukano thought to himself.

 **A/N: So thanks again for reading my story guys. At this point I've realized that I suck at uploading chapters. This story was supposed to finish in January of last year. This story is almost 2 years old. So, I'm gonna post a chapter once a month. So the next chapter will be uploaded in March. Like in every chapter I upload there's usually a reference. If you find it I might give you a Sprite with licorice as a straw, but it's been caught by my attention that some people don't like it when it dries up. Weird huh? Anyway I'm rambling again, so thanks again for everything guys. If you could read and review that would be fantastic. Any type of criticism is fine. Anyway I appreciate you guys.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright guys here's the seventh chapter of my ATLA story.**

 **Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

"

Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 7: Aang's Explosive Personality_

Aang sighed. "I honestly didn't think that the saying 'go where the wind takes you' would be so exhausting." Aang said.

"Oh shut it, there's no point in complaining Twinkle Toes." Toph said.

"Well we didn't really do anything today Toph." Aang said.

"I wouldn't say that exactly." Toph said.

"We invaded Sokka's house and invaded the Kyoshi Warriors' training." Aang said.

"I needed someone else to spar against since you're boring." Toph said.

"But did you really have to go overboard?" Aang said.

"What are you talking about?" Toph feigned innocence.

"Seriously Toph? You bruised up and I'm pretty sure injured half of Suki's squad." Aang said.

"Hey what can I say, they should've trained harder." Toph replied.

"I'm just saying to take down a notch." Aang pleaded.

Toph scoffed. "Are you telling the Greatest Earthbender ever to take it down notch?" Toph asked.

Aang looked at Toph. "Please, I know you were holding back. If you weren't holding back you'd destroy part of the Ba Sing Se."

Toph scoffed at his comment "You think a poor little blind girl would do that much destruction?"

"Alright, I don't want to keep playing." Aang said.

Toph smiled at him. "Aw, but I was just getting started Twinkle Toes."

"Can we head back now? I'm exhausted." Aang asked.

"Party pooper." Toph said.

"So is that a yes?" Aang asked.

"Fine. It does seem like we've been out for quite a while." Toph noted.

Aang looked up at the sky. "You're right it won't be long before nightfall comes."

"Well then Twinkle Toes let's head back to eat dinner." Toph said.

"You read my mind." Aang said.

"So Twinkles-" Toph started.

"Yeah what's up?" Aang asked.

"I've been hearing rumors…" Toph said.

Aang stopped in his tracks paying to Toph. "About…?" Aang asked.

Toph smirked. "You being head over heels over Ty Lee."

Aang slapped his forehead. "You know I thought by the sound of your voice it'd be something serious."

Toph place her hand in her hips. "You're not denying my statement, Twinkle Toes."

"Why do you care?" Aang asked.

"Just to feed my curiosity." Toph said.

"No, I don't have any emotional feelings towards her." Aang said.

"Good you better." Toph covered her mouth as she let that slip.

Aang gave a confused stare at Toph. "Good why?"

Toph blushed and waved her hands. "Well, because because-"

Aang raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Because?"

"Because someone like you, an Airbender dating someone like Ty Lee, a Firebender could cause some problems against both nations." Toph reasoned.

'But Katara and Zuko are both dating, so…" Aang said.

"Well, you still have training to do, so you can't have any distractions." Toph said.

Aang gave her a surprised look. "Oh, that makes sense."

Toph looked away from. "Anyway let's keep going."

"Right, right." Aang said.

"Glad I found you two here." A voice said.

"Tsk what a way to kill it Snoozles." Toph muttered.

"Is there something you need Sokka?" Aang asked.

Sokka nodded holding up two fingers. "Actually I came here for two reasons."

"Which are?" Toph asked in annoyance.

"First things first. Toph, Suki needs you to help her clean up the mess you left behind at the Kyoshi Warriors' training. Second, I need to talk to Aang in private." Sokka said.

"Why do I have to do it?" Toph asked.

"Because you did majority of the mess. Plus, you injured half of Suki's squad." Sokka reasoned.

"Not my fault they weren't prepared." Toph said.

"It kinda is Toph. You could've taken it down a notch." Sokka said.

Toph glanced at Aang. "Great now you're the second person to tell me that today."

"Suki expects you to be there, so you might as well get going." Sokka said

Toph crossed her arms in annoyance. "Man, this bites."

"Well then, Aang I need to talk with you." Sokka said.

Toph walked towards Aang. "Looks like we're not eating dinner together Twinkle Toes."

"I'll just wait then." Aang said.

"That's a promise?" Toph said.

"Sure." Aang said.

Toph smiled at Aang making him blush. "Alright then I'll be back before you know it."

"She seemed quite motivated" Sokka pointed out.

"That's one way of looking at it." Aang said.

"Anyways, let's get straight to the point. I need to have a quick word with you about something." Sokka said.

Aang's stomach made a loud grumble. "You know I'd like to help you in whatever way I can, but can we eat something first because I'm starving." Aang said.

"You said it buddy. I'm starving too, but do you know any places where we could get something to eat?" Sokka asked.

Aang pointed towards the direction he was headed. "Well, Toph and I were heading back to her house, so we could eat. If you want you could come with us."

Sokka smiled. "You don't have to ask me twice. Let's go."

"Yeah, but we have to wait for Toph." Aang said.

"Majority of the damage left by Toph was already fixed, so she was only left with the heavy stuff." Sokka said.

Aang gave Sokka a puzzled look. "So why call her?"

"Because they couldn't fix everything." Sokka said.

"I see." Aang said.

"And besides by the time we get to Toph's house she'd be finished with her work." Sokka said.

Aang smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I know."

Aang and Sokka walked towards Toph's house in bitter silence. Aang was wondering what Sokka needed while Sokka himself was wondering what type of food was going to be served at Toph's house. While walking a voice could be heard shouting out loud.

"HEY TWINKLE TOES." Toph shouted.

"Don't tell me she's already done." Sokka said.

Aang gave a half smile at Sokka. "Well you did say she was motivated."

Sokka scoffed. "Yeah, but she left like ten minutes ago."

"Well here she comes." Aang pointed out.

As if on cue, Toph showed up covered in dirt and dust smiling. "What's up?"

"Uh… nothing much, but how did you finish so fast?" Aang asked.

"Suki did majority of the light work, so she left the 'hard' part of the job to me." Toph said.

"So Suki let you go?" Sokka asked.

Toph nodded. "Well she's right over there."

"Wait you brought Suki here?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah I did. She worked hard, so I invited her to dinner." Toph said.

Suki walked in and she was in worse shape than Toph. "Hey guys."

"Hi honey." Sokka said.

"What's up Sokka?" Suki asked.

"AGHH ENOUGH TALKING. I'M HUNGRY." Toph said.

"Fine let's go eat, but first we need to clean up." Suki said.

"Fine." Toph said.

Sokka smiled "Alright let's go." All four of them walked into Toph's house to finally feast on the food that they were told of.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So was there a reason you needed me?" Aang asked.

"Well yes and no." Sokka said.

"You're not making sense." Aang said.

"Yes I need you because I need someone to talk to and since Suki is gonna be busy, who better to take than my buddy?" Sokka said.

"And no because?" Aang asked.

"Oh right. No because I need to meet up with my dad." Sokka said.

"You just need a ride don't you?" Aang asked.

"Well that to, but mainly 'cuz I wanna talk." Sokka said

"Well then when are we scheduled to leave?" Aang asked.

"Today." Sokka replied.

"You couldn't have told me this earlier?" Aang moaned.

"Hey, better late than never am I right?" Sokka said.

"Yeah, I guess." Aang said.

"Do you want to leave right now or later?" Sokka asked.

"I'd actually rather want to leave now." Aang said.

"Alright, then follow me." Sokka said. He walked a few steps before he realized his mistake.

"Hey, uh, Sokka. Don't you think we need to get Appa first?" Aang asked.

"Oh, I knew that. I was just trying to test you." Sokka justified. Aang started to walk to the Beifongs to retrieve his things and get Appa ready.

"Sure, and penguins can fly. Anyway are you going to follow me?" Aang asked. Sokka had no choice, but to follow.

"Yeah, yeah let's get going." Sokka said.

"So how long are we going to stay with your dad?" Aang asked.

"Maybe three days." Sokka said.

"How come?" Aang asked.

"When we get there I'll talk to him about some matters that came up. The other two will be to relax." Sokka said.

"Why relax?" Aang asked.

"So, I can spend time with my pops. It's been awhile since we've been able to have some father-son time." Sokka said.

"I see.." Aang muttered.

"Besides I also want to hang out with you. Since you've been hanging out with Toph ever since you got back." Sokka huffed that last part.

"You seem a little bothered Sokka." Aang noted.

"Me? Bothered? Why would I be bothered? It's not like your best friend left out of nowhere for a few months and then decides to come back with a simple 'what's up' and then proceeds to hang out with someone else since he got back, instead of hanging out with his best friend." Sokka said.

"I'm sorry Sokka I didn't know that's you felt." Aang said.

"Of course you wouldn't know how I feel since you haven't been around me for so long. There's days where Suki isn't here and I have to be alone all day. It gets lonely here. And when I think you might come over, I hear your hanging around Toph." Sokka said tears starting to stream down his face. He walked further ahead so Aang wouldn't see him.

Aang felt hurt. Guilt hit him right in the gut as he saw his friend crying.

"Sokka…" Aang softly said. Sokka wiped away his tears and grinned at him.

"How do you like my acting?" Sokka asked. Aang opened his mouth in disbelief.

"You were acting this whole time?" Aang asked.

"Pretty good huh? I picked that up from Suki, since she's always doing that to me." Sokka said/

"I actually felt pretty guilty for doing you like that, but come to find out you're messing with me." Aang said. Sokka started laughing uncontrollably at Aang's reaction.

"Listen, Aang. I would never ever get mad at you for hanging out with someone else. You do you." Sokka said.

"But still. I felt bad." Aang said. Sokka stopped and patted Aang in his shoulder.

"Don't be. I see your happy every time you're with her. In fact, it's been so long since I've ever seen you that happy." Sokka said.

"Well that's because I love her." Aang said.

"Wait love who?" Sokka asked.

"Toph." Aang replied. Seconds turned to minutes as the silence kept making the situation.

"Of course you do." Sokka finally broke the silence.

"You know I honestly thought you would be surprised." Aang said.

"Oh believe me Aang, appearances can be deceiving. I already lost a hefty amount of cash to Suki and Katara." Sokka said.

"Sorry about that." Aang sheepishly said.

"It's whatever Aang. It's no skin off my back." Sokka said.

"Well I feel like I needed to tell somebody." Aang said.

"Don't worry Aang. I'm always gonna be all ears to your problems." Sokka said.

"Thanks Sokka. I needed that." Aang said.

"Hey as long as you're happy. I'm happy for you." Sokka said.

"Thanks." Aang said.

Sokka had a confused look on his face. "Wait, when exactly are you gonna tell her?"

"That's just it. I don't know when I'm going to tell her." Aang sheepishly said.

"Wait if you were betting against Toph and I, who exactly did you pair me up with?" Aang asked.

"Oh that's easy. Ty Lee." Sokka said.

Aang then had a flashback as to when Toph said the same exact person's name. "So it was you."

Sokka gave him a questioning look. " Yes, it was me."

"You don't know what I'm even accusing you of." Aang said.

"You're right, but I just wanted to see your reaction. By what was me?" Sokka said.

Aang gave Sokka an annoyed look. "You're the one who's been saying that I might have feelings for Ty Lee. Now Toph has the idea that I like Ty Lee."

"Hey, I only said it was a rumor I never said anything about it being true." Sokka justified.

"Great now knowing Toph she might spread these false rumors." Aang said.

Sokka smiled at Aang. "Oh come on don't think about it like that."

"Why?" Aang asked.

"Why what?" Sokka asked.

"Why did you do it?" Aang asked.

"I saw an easy chance of making money, so I took it." Sokka replied.

"Is that so?" Aang looked at Sokka.

"Would you turn down an offer to make easy money?" Sokka asked.

"More than likely." Aang said.

"And here I was gonna split the money with you in case I won." Sokka said.

"So, how much money were you going to make off of Suki and Katara?" Aang asked.

Sokka looked around in suspicion and whispered in his ear the amount "XXXXX"

Aang's jaw dropped. "THAT MUCH AMOUNT OF MONEY?"

Sokka looked in disappointment. "Yeah."

Aang gave him a questioning glance. "So you owe both Suki and Katara that much money."

"Me and Zuko to be precise." Sokka said.

"Oh for a second there I thought it was just you." Aang said.

"Why?" Sokka asked.

"Well, if I'm being honest, that seems like way too much money for you to pay up, However, now that I know that Zuko's helping you it seems like that amount of money is just tickling his savings." Aang said.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Zuko would agree with me." Sokka said.

"Speaking of which. Why was he on your side of the bet?" Aang asked.

"Because he wanted to prove Katara wrong." Sokka replied.

"I can see that. He never likes it when people prove him wrong, especially when it's Katara." Aang said.

"You can say that again." Sokka said.

Aang stopped at the entrance. "Wait here while I get my things."

Sokka smiled at him. "Sure."

As soon as Aang entered the house, he quickly made his way to his room packing his stuff in a small bag.

"What a terrible time to run away." Toph noted.

"Ha- ha you got jokes Toph." Aang said.

Toph smiled. "I try."

Aang rolled his eyes. "I'll be gone for a bit."

"Where to?" Toph asked.

"Sokka's house." Aang said.

Toph's eyebrows rose. "Isn't that like a few minutes from here."

"Not here. The Water Tribe." Aang said.

"Ohh… You should be more specific." Toph said.

"Yeah, anyway, see ya." Aang said.

"See ya, Twinkles." Toph said.

Aang made his way out of the house and found Sokka messing with Momo and Appa.

"I'm here Sokka." Aang said.

"Alright, let's get going Aang." Sokka said.

Both of the set up Appa and got on board.

"Yip, yip." Aang said and Appa started to fly.

"WAIT."

Aang and Sokka got off of Appa. "Who is it?" Sokka asked.

"Suki who else?" Suki replied.

"Is there something you need? We were about to leave." Sokka asked.

"Yeah I know, but your sister sent an urgent message." Suki said.

"Katara? What does the message say?" Sokka said.

"Zuko's in need of your help. He also needs Aang and Toph to go." Suki said.

"One step ahead of you." Toph said.

"Why are you here?" Aang asked.

"I just like the environment and weather we're having- why the hell do you think I'm doing here?" Toph said.

"To say goodbye?" Aang reluctantly answered.

Suki cleared her throat. "Anyway Zuko said to head to the fire nation as soon as possible."

Sokka groaned. "Looks like my trip's gonna have to wait."

Aang and Sokka got back on top of Appa with the addition of Suki and Toph.

"Yip,Yip Appa." Aang said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"We're here, guys." Sokka said.

"About time you guys got here. What took you so long?" Katara asked.

"You gotta understand that just by sending an urgent message doesn't mean that we'll appear right then and there." Sokka justified.

"Anyway, Zuko needs to see you." Katara said.

"What do we got, Zuko?" Sokka asked.

"As far I can see we're dealing a small army disrupting the Earth Kingdom." Zuko explained.

"A small army like that being able to disrupt the Earth Kingdom?" Aang asked.  
"Do we know where that army originates from? And the size of the army?" Sokka asked.

Zuko grabbed some papers. "Well based on these reports these men aren't wearing anything that could help us figure out where they originate from. And as to the size of the army, it says here that there's about 100 men."

"Alright then I think we need to wrap this planning and get going." Sokka said.

Toph cracked her knuckles. "Yeah let's get this over with."

"Aang come here, please." Katara said.

"What is it Katara?" Aang asked. She pulled out a whistle that reflected the color of the water nation and handed it to Aang.

"Take this." Katara said.

"What is it?" Aang asked.

"It's a necklace." Katara replied.

"What's it for?" Aang asked.

Katara smiled at Aang. "If the time ever comes, and you're surrounded by Firebenders this'll reduce the damage. However, since I didn't have much time, the necklaces' power won't last, so be careful."

"How come you didn't make me one?" Toph asked.

Katara pulled out a bracelet from her pocket, tossing it to Toph. "Here. Yours is a bracelet, so it's got the same limited power, so be careful."

Zuko cleared his throat. "Are you done? We need to split up into groups. Sokka will go with Suki, I will go with Katara, and Aang will go with Toph. Any questions?"

Toph raised her hand. "What's the rush? I thought you said that we were dealing with a small threat?"

"I know what I said, but still I have a bad feeling about this." Zuko said.

"Ok it's let's get going. Here's a map. This map will let you know where each one of us is going." Sokka said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang and Toph both ran to their destination. "Based on what Zuko mapped out we should be getting close.

"Well let's get this over with and head back." Toph said.

"Well how many can sense Toph?" Aang asked.

"Give or take about seventy." Toph said.

"Weird number of soldiers to have." Aang said.

"Doesn't matter they won't pose much of a threat, so I say we catch them by surprise." Toph said.

Aang smirked. "Yeah let's."

A soldier pointed their way and massive fireballs were shot at them.

"So much for surprise huh Toph?" Aang asked.

"Plan B then." Toph said.

"Plan B?" Aang asked.

Toph grinned. "Yeah all out attack."

Aang shook his head "Of course that'd be your plan."

They took out the first few soldiers, and they kept at it. If someone were to see this from afar they'd wonder what's going on? Two little kids beating up grown men.

"Hey, Toph I thought you said there was only seventy of them?" Aang pointed.

"Yeah what's your point?" Toph asked.

"Well I'm pretty sure you and I have taken out at least fifty of them,, yet it seems like more of the keep showing up." Aang said.

Toph's eyes widened in shock. _How can that be I know I sensed seventy of those soldiers._

A man from the front lines said. "I believe I can explain that."

"Who are you?" Aang asked.

"Well if you must know I was a former general of Lord Ozai's branch, General Shinu." Shinu said.

"Great another nutcase from the Fire Nation. Why am I not surprised?" Toph said.

"Anyway, child the reason why your earthbending pal over there couldn't detect all of our soldiers was because we managed a way to hide their presence." Shinu said.

"So about how many are there then?" Aang asked.

"Oh give or take about seven hundred left. And with that I bid you adieu." Shinu smiled.

"Crap we have a while left." Toph said.

"Well we can't stop right now." Aang said.

"Yeah I know." Toph said.

They kept at it. They kept fighting and with all that fighting they were able to take out at least 300 soldiers without killing them of course. But the more they took out more kpt showing up until they were circled around. And with all that hard battling came its side effects. Both fighters were beginning to slow down.

"DAMN IT WE'RE SURROUNDED." Aang said.

"I KNOW THAT BUT WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?" Toph asked. Aang looked down at the ground thinking of solutions to getting out.

 _ **DAMN IT AANG THINK THINK.**_ Aang shouted to himself. It finally hit him. A solution, although not a good one, it was still better than anything.

"Toph I got an idea." Aang said.

"Well then let's hear it airhead." Toph said.

"I'll earthbend a wall to create a distraction and then…" Aang paused.

"And then… THEN WHAT AANG?" Toph shouted.

"Then… You make a run for it." Aang replied. Toph her head as she looked at Aang with disbelief.

"Why are you looking at me like that" Aang asked.

"Because that's the stupidest you've said so far" Toph said

"No there's gotta be another solution." Toph said.

"We're being outnumbered Toph and we don't have time. I need you to tell Sokka and the rest of the gang what we're dealing with." Aang said.

"Can't you just go in to your Avatar State?" Toph asked.

"I can't because I might hurt you and I don't think I could ever live with myself if that ever happened." Aang said.

"I can't just leave you behind Aang." Toph said.

"Well I just can't sit back and do nothing not while I can do something." Aang said.

"How do you think Sokka and them are gonna feel letting you sacrifice yourself for the rest of us? How do you think I'm gonna feel?" Toph asked.

"Well do you have any other ideas?" Aang asked.

"No… but." Toph paused.

"Exactly. Besides you're hurt right now, so I'll stall for some time while you make a run for it." Aang said.

"But, you'll get killed" Toph said

"Oh well. I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice." Aang reasoned. Toph couldn't believe the nonsense he was spewing out. Instead of making a run for it right away she did something Aang didn't expect. She kissed him.

"Well, then you better come back alive Twinkle Toes." Toph said. As soon as Aang set up the wall, she made a run for it.

"Where do you think your going girly? I did not give you permission to leave." Shinu said spewing out fire towards Toph. Aang noticed this and used his waterbending to stop the incoming attack.

"Don't you dare hurt her. Your focus is on me." Aang growled.

"Really now? You want to act like a hero? Well you might as well die like one." Shinu said.

"That sucks. I least I got a prize out of it." Aang said.

"GET HIM." Shinu shouted. The entire army of rebels charged towards the Avatar.

 _Well, Toph should've left by now._ Aang thought. Aang had nowhere to run as the army had completely surrounded him.

"Well me against the world. So what?" Aang said.

Shinu stepped up. "Well, well any last words before we take you out, Avatar?" He asked

"You mean like to eat?" Aang asked.

"Honestly, we're about this close to decimating you and you're trying to be a smart ass." He said.

"Hey, if I gotta go out like this. The least I can do is make sure you don't enjoy it." Aang said. He stood in his classic on guard stance.

"If you take one of us down, the rest of us will burn you to death." One of the rebels said.

Aang smiled. _Well, so much for having a plan. I'm running out of options. Sorry Toph looks like I won't be able to keep my word._ Aang thought to himself.

"BURN HIM." Shinu said. They shot fire from everywhere Aang managed to block them,

"Looks like it was easier than I thought." Aang smirked.

"Oh we're only just getting started Avatar. KEEP IT UP MEN." Shinu shouted. They kept on going and Aang was starting to get tired.

"Looks like they're not stopping." Aang said.

"Aww. What's wrong Avatar? Giving up? I thought you were going to put up more of a fight." Shinu said.

"Well when you have about 300 soldiers against you, it's a little difficult to fend off so many." Aang mumbled.

"Don't worry Avatar we won't waste much of your time. We'll finish you off soon." Shinu said.

"Look he's starting to crack." A soldier said.

"Let's see how truly strong the Avatar is. Let's see how long it takes him to burn." Shinu said.

They kept firing at Aang. It was warm at first, but it was starting to heat up by the second.

 _Looks like Katara's necklace is starting to lose its powers._ Aang thought to himself _._ He couldn't keep going on for much longer.

"Whatever's protecting you Avatar makes it harder for you to burn. But not impossible by the slightest. After we're done with you we'll go after that little Earth bender" Shinu said.

Aang couldn't keep going anymore. He was being consumed by the flames. He fell face first to the ground, the soldiers were laughing and cheering at the Avatar falling.

'General, the Avatar has fallen." A soldier said.

"Wait until Ukano hears this." Shinu said.

"Now what General?" The soldier asked.

"We take him back to Ukano and we'll go from there." Shinu said.

As soon as they went to Aang he stood up on one knee.

"I'll be dead before I get taken alive." Aang said.

"If that's what it takes. PREPARE TO FIRE." Shinu ordered. His soldiers took position and were ready to fire again.

A small smile of regret plastered itself on Aang's face. _Well Toph... I guess I won't be coming back… I_ ' _m sorry we couldn't do all the things we planned.. I'm sorry I couldn't do much more. I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my word. I'm so, so, so, sorry…_ Aang thought. With that he activated his Avatar state and used all his power in firebending to create a massive explosion involving everyone that wa in the battlefield, including himself.

 _Thank you for everything._

In the distance Toph was running as fast as her injured legs could take her and she a felt massive shake on the ground. She stopped fealt massive heat waves hitting her. A small shed of tear managed to roll down Toph's left eye

 _Yoo better come back from this… Aang._

 **A/N: ANND THAT'S A WRAP. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STICKING TO THE END OF THE SERIES. THIS WAS THE LAST CHAPTER TO A SERIES THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO END ABOUT A YEAR AGO. ANYWAYS I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE SOME REVIEWS. SO LONG TO THIS STORY…**

 **IS WHAT YOU THOUGHT I WOULD SAY**

 **So right about now I should be working on the 8th chapter of this fanfic. So yeah one chapter once a month. So the next one should be coming, well maybe earlier if I get to it. Anyway like any of the previous chapters you've been reading there's a reference to a tv show. Oh and if you haven't noticed the following chapters are gonna be about 5k words or something like that. S** **o thanks again for everything guys. Like any chapter I've written there's always a reference to another Animoo. If you could read and review that would be fantastic. Any type of criticism is fine. Anyway I appreciate you guys.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright guys here's the eighth chapter of my ATLA story.** **Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

 _Text Like this_ **= Someone thinking to themselves**

 **"** Text Like this **" = A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 8: Somber News_

In the distance Toph was running as fast as her injured legs could take her and she felt a massive shake on the ground. She stopped and felt massive heat waves hitting her. A small shed of tear managed to roll down Toph's left eye. _You better come back from this… Aang._

Not too far from the explosion Sokka and Suki felt the vibrations. Both stopped and look towards the direction of the explosion. "What was that noise?" Sokka asked.

Suki gave a look of worry. "Hm… Who knows."

Suki put a hand on Sokka's shoulder. "Let's keep going. We can't afford to worry."

Sokka gave a small smile. "You're right. Let's go back to base and report this to Zuko and Katara."

"Yeah let's." Suki said.

Sokka stretched. "Once we get this over with I'm gonna head straight to the hot springs."

"Oh? Why's that?" Suki asked.

"Not gonna lie I just wanna get this over with." Sokka declared.

Suki gave him a small smile. "Understatement of the century."

Sokka gave an annoyed look. "Ha-ha make all your jokes, but you know as well as I do how stressful this is."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Honestly I thought asking you out was the most stressful thing in the world." Sokka muttered underneath his breath.

Suki gave him a teasing look/ "Did you say something? I couldn't quite catch that."

Sokka looked away flustered. "NOTHING I SAID NOTHING."

Suki laughed at him. "Oh come on don't be that way besides-." Suki got close to Sokka's ear and whispered. "If we get this done quickly, I'll give you a reward for all your hard work once we get home."

Sokka stiffened up at her offer. "Well, I mean if you insist."

Suki smiled. "Glad you see things my way." _God he's so easy._ Suki thought to herself.

Sokka started picking up the pace. "We need to hurry up. I'm starting to get a bad feeling." Suki nodded.

Walking into their base he saw a beat up Katara and Zuko. Not that Sokka and Suki looked any different. Exhausted and in pain Sokka turned to look at Zuko.

"Zuko how many did you guys have to deal with?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know… about 100-200. However a majority of them ran away." Zuko said.

"Same here." Suki said.

"I wonder what that noise was from earlier." Katara said.

Sokka gave a confused look. "Wait that wasn't you guys?"

Katara eyes widened in shock. "No, we thought it was you guys."

Suki's face was full of concern. "Oh no… Aang and Toph better come out alive."

Sokka gave a small smile. "Of course they're gonna make it out. I mean it's Aang and Toph. They're practically the two strongest benders anyone has ever seen."

Suki smile faintly. "You're right Toph would never go down like that to some low life scums."

Zuko cleared his throat pulling out the scroll. "Anyway. One of the things that's bothering me is the number of soldiers. The messenger said that there was only about 100 soldiers. So why was there- Oh no." Zuko started going pale, sweating profoundly

Sokka gave a worried look. "What's going on Zuko?"

Zuko gave the scroll to Sokka. "The ink on this paper look at it."

"What about it looks fine to-" Sokka stopped.

"What's going on?" Katara asked.

"The ink stopped at 100, but you can see the messenger faintly put another zero." Sokka said.

"What does that mean?" Suki asked.

Zuko and Sokka both ran out of the door. "It means that we have to go and help out Aang and Toph right _**NOW**_."

Suki and Katara looked at each other and followed suit. All four of them ran as quickly as they could to help Aang and Toph.

"Sokka what's going on?" Katara asked.

"Don't you see. Our group and your group got about 100 to 200 soldiers to deal with at most-." Sokka said.

"And?" Katara asked.

"They intended to aim for Aang on purpose. If we do the math both Aang and Toph are dealing with at least 500 to 600 soldiers." Sokka said.

Katara's eye opened. "Aang."

"We need to hurry." Sokka said.

"I don't know how much we'll be able to contribute since we already tired ourselves out." Suki said.

Sokka picked up the speed. "Well it doesn't matter right now. I INTEND TO HELP OUT NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES."

Zuko, Katara and Suki all nodded at what Sokka just exclaimed. "Right."

They kept running with everything they had. Even if they were tired they kept running in order to aid their friends in any way that they can. It felt like an eternity, the more they kept running, the more it felt like they weren't getting any closer.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"There." Sokka pointed to a figure limping towards them. The rest of the group stopped and looked at what Sokka was pointing at. The figure kept limping towards muttering words that fell on deaf ears. A gasp could be heard from the Water Bender.

Katara with her eyes wide open covered her mouth with both her hands. "Oh my god TOPH." She went running towards the little Earth Bender. As soon as she got to her Toph collapsed falling into Katara's arms. Toph looked at her beloved friend and gave her a weak smile.

"Nice to see you Sugar Queen." Toph said weakly, barely audible.

"What happened?" Suki asked as she followed Katara.

"There was too many of them…" Toph gripped on Katara's shirt. A single tear fell from Toph's eye. "Twinkle Toes stayed behind to let me escape. Please… I beg you… go help Aang."

Sokka clenched his fists. "That idiot… What in the hell was thinking. Don't worry Toph I'll make sure to bring back Aang safely, if it's the last thing I do. Come on Zuko we have to help him." Zuko gave him a serious stare.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Zuko pointed at Toph. "You two stay here with Toph. This could get ugly." Suki nodded understanding the situation they were in.

Zuko and Sokka started running toward the direction Toph came from. Sokka couldn't stand seeing Toph crying. As much as he disliked her antics he hated seeing someone close to him being reduced to tears.

"Come on buddy. You better be right there." Sokka pleaded.

"Thank… you." Toph said as she finally passed out from all the pain she was feeling. Katara started carrying Toph.

"Come on Suki. We need to go. She needs medical attention based on her injuries." Suki nodded in agreement.

Taking a last look into the far Suki closed her eyes and put her hands to her chest. "Please be careful… All of you."

 **XXXXXXXX**

"How far were we separated from each other? We've been running for a while." Sokka asked.

"We're close." Zuko said.

"How do you know?" Sokka asked.

Zuko looked at his surroundings. "Look around you. The landscape's starting to change."

Sokka closed his eyes. "Just how far did you push yourself Aang?"

Zuko stopped dead in his tracks. Looking at the damage done. Trees that were once green and tall are now black, tumbled over, and covered in crimson. Life that once thrived in the area had been left completely lifeless. In the midst of all that destruction at the center of all of it was a huge crater. Sokka stopped with a confused glare.

"Why'd we stop Zuko?"

"Don't you see we're already here. Look at the landscape, it's clear that a battle happened here. Plus the bodies that are all around here suggest so." Zuko said.

Sokka gave a distressed look. "Where's Aang?"

Zuko pointed at the crater. "My guess is right over there." They ran to the crater and stopped. From afar it looked small, but once they were up close they were surprised as to how deep the hole was. Both looked at the center and saw nothing.

Sokka panicked. "Where is he? WHERE'S AANG? ZUKO WHERE'S AANG?"

Zuko put his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Sokka. Acting like this isn't going to make this easier."

Sokka stopped and looked down. So many thoughts were going through his head. Many were of his friend, the Avatar. As much as he wanted to let feelings go wild he realised that Zuko had a point.

"Yeah you're right. I'm sorry."

Zuko patted him in the back. "Don't be. It's natural to give this sort of response."

"So now what?" Sokka asked.

"We look for Aang. Even if it means searching the whole area. There's no way Aang could've gone out like that" Zuko said.

"Yeah you're right." Sokka said.

They spent hours looking for the Avatar, hoping to find him. However they couldn't find a single soul in the midst of what had happened. Sokka fell to his knees and lost it. Tears were streaming down his face when he realized that his best friend was no longer with them. How was gonna explain this to Katara and Suki. How was he gonna explain this to Toph. He promised that he'd bring him back. It was bad enough seeing Toph crying, but this might push her over the edge. Zuko grabbed Sokka's shoulder to show sympathy. After a while they headed back to the base being greeted with a hopeful Katara and Suki. However they had to break the news to them one way or another. Needless, to say they had same reaction as Sokka had earlier.

"Where's Toph? We need to tell her." Sokka said.

"She's still out of it. We can't tell her right now. She's already in bad shape, we can't add more by telling her Aang's dead." Suki said.

"So when exactly are we gonna tell her? She's gonna find out one way or another." Zuko said.

"First let's head to Earth Kingdom and let Toph get proper treatment since this isn't a very good place for that. Then we'll tell her. Like you said Zuko she's gonna find out one way or the other. So might as well tell her as soon as possible." Sokka said.

Katara nodded. "I don't like this. I don't like any of this."

Sokka sighed. "I know you don't sis, but we can't keep up a lie since she can sense when someone lies."

"Fine, we'll do it your way." Katara said.

"Alright then, let's get some rest and head out first thing in the morning."

 **XXXXXXXX**

7 days. It took 7 days for Toph to wake up and fully recover. She was unconscious for 4 of those days and it seemed unknown when she would open up those colorless eyes. She could hear Katara gasp when she came to and was relieved to see her doing well. She tried getting out of bed so she could start 'seeing,' but it seemed quite difficult as her legs couldn't support her for too long. Still, even with the amount she was able to walk she was able to sense her surroundings. She felt Katara right next to her. She felt Sokka and Suki napping in the chairs next to her. She was happy to 'see' all of friends with her, except for someone. She couldn't feel Aang anywhere. She didn't think too much of it since Sparky wasn't there. She thought that they were probably having another meeting. Katara then told her to take it easy since she was out of it for 4 days. For once Toph listened seeing as she was too tired to argue with anyone. She had rested for another three days, leading us to the current event. A knock could be heard in Toph's room.

"Come in." Toph said.

The door opened and Sokka popped out. "What's up Toph?"

Toph smiled as she recognized that voice. "Nothing much Snoozles. So what do you want?"

"We're meeting up in my house and we need you to be there." Sokka said.

"How come?" Toph asked.

"Zuko summoned you." Sokka replied.

Toph smiled. "Oh Sparky needs me? When does he never need me? I'll be there in a bit Snoozles."

"You already know where we already live right?" Sokka asked.

Toph nodded. "Yup. I'll be there. I get to see all of you again. Plus I'll be able to see Twinkle Toes right?"

As soon as she said that she felt the mood darken a bit. Sokka avoided Toph's gaze and too his leave.

 _What was that about?_ Toph thought to herself. She was about to get dressed when she thought of doing something out her nature that the world might shake: She wanted to take a shower. Crazy right? So she headed to the bathroom and took a 30 minute shower. After she finished with her shower she dried off and got dressed. She was a little nervous to see Aang especially after what she did to him before leaving. She blushed as soon as she remembered kissing Aang.

"Okay no more of that." Toph said out loud.

She continued getting ready and headed out the room and walked towards Sokka's house. It took her bit to get there, but as soon as she got there she stopped at the entrance because she felt a strange feeling in her gut. She ignored it and knocked on the door. She was received by Suki.

"Hi Toph." Suki said.

"What's up?" Toph said.

"The others are waiting on you." Suki replied.

Toph walked into the room and sensed someone else. In the room was Zuko, Sokka, Katara, Suki, Iroh, Bumi and a new person she'd never met. She was about their age; brown nut hair tall, hazel colored eyes,and wore a green tunic. But there was no Aang.

"What's with waking us up this early." Toph asked.

"Toph it's almost about to be 12 in the afternoon." Katara pointed out.

"And your point?" Toph asked.

Zuko cleared his throat. "If we can get started please."

"Oh right." Katara said.

"So as you all know the explosion yesterday could be heard all throughout the land. This woman right next to me supposedly heard the explosion and apparently she can sense if there's any life form around." Zuko said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Toph asked.

"Well if you let me finish. Anyways, she has some new to tell us." Zuko said.

"Hmm...might as well get the most important of news out of the way. Based on what was left of the large explosion a mere hundred of those soldiers perished. Not a single soul is alive." The girl said.

The same feeling Toph felt when she was at Sokka's entrance began to haunt her. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that Avatar Aang has died in battle." The mood of the room changed from bright to dark at the drop of a hat.

"We also found this…" Zuko handed parts of Aang's clothing and a misshaped glider.

"What is it?" Suki asked.

"It's some of Aang's belongings." Sokka spoke up.

"We'll honor Aang's passing in a few days." Zuko said.

Sokka sighed. "Then the search for the new Avatar will start."

"First things first we have to stop this army before we start planning for anything else." Zuko said.

"Well based on what Toph told us about what happened back then if they have that large amount of soldiers on their side it'll be difficult ambushing them." Sokka said.

"The real question is where did they get so many rebels?" Suki asked.

"Believe it or not, many people in the Fire Nation don't like what I've done to the nation." Zuko spoke up.

"What do you mean.? You've made alliances with other nations." Katara said.

"And that's where the issue lies. Some didn't like the fact that a nation as powerful as the Fire Nation would rely on allies." Zuko said.

"Still though. Who would've thought that there'd be that many people who would want to oppose Zuko." Suki said.

Zuko rubbed his chin. "Well, not really I mean the people of the Fire Nation have been used to not having any form of alliances. We thought that we were too powerful to have any allies. Since I took over I've made plenty of allies with different nations and the citizens aren't too pleased to hear that. They begin to feel like their once great nation has been reduced to a mere kicking puppy asking for help."

"Well, we're gonna have to figure out who's out to get you." Sokka said.

Zuko looked annoyed. "That could be anyone."

"I know that smartass." Sokka said.

Zuko snapped. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SMARTASS YOU DUMBASS."

The tension in the room was starting to rise as Zuko grabbed Sokka by the shirt. Bumi and Iroh had to step in to stop the commotion from getting out of control.

"Excuse me." Toph muttered.

Suki turned around seeing as she's the only who heard her. She was about to stop her, but then she realized she should just let her be. She can only imagine the pain she must be in right now. Losing the person you love can affect anyone, even someone as stone hearted as Toph. As soon as the commotion stopped Katara snapped her fingers. "I know maybe if we can get a description of what he looked like then maybe we cut shorten the list of culprits."

Sokka smiled. "Hey that's pretty smart of you sis."

Zuko put his hand in his chin pondering. "That might just work. Toph do you think you could tell us-" He turned towards Toph, but there was nothing there.

"Where's Toph?" Sokka asked.

"She left a while ago." Suki finally spoke up.

"And you didn't say anything?" Katara asked.

"She looked out of it. I didn't want to interfere with whatever she's dealing with." Suki said.

"Great now we have to find her." Katara said.

Sokka walked next to his sister and patted her shoulder. "Sis, I think Suki's right. I feel like we should let Toph handle what she's dealing with on her own."

Katara snapped. "DON'T YOU GET IT? THAT'S EXACTLY WHY WE HAVE TO FIND HER. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO SHOW SUPPORT TO ONE ANOTHER AND I CAN'T STAND WATCHING TOPH SUFFER WHILE WE'RE DOIN NOTHING." Katara stormed out the room, slamming the door in the process.

"Katara wait-" Suki said.

"Just let her be." Sokka said.

"But-" Suki started.

"Give her some time, If I knew her any better I'd say she's gonna go talk to Toph." Zuko said.

"FIne, but you can't blame someone for worrying." Suki muttered.

"In any case I need to have a word with Sokka in private." Zuko stated.

Suki and the rest nodded and left the room except Sokka.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Toph walked and walked wherever the wind took her. After hearing the news there was only one person she could think about.

"Aang."

 **A/N: So right about now I should be working on the 9th chapter of this fanfic. So yeah one chapter once a month. However since I missed like three months worth of chapters I'll update quicker. So the next one should be coming.. Honestly this fanfic is taking a lot longer to complete. I was supposed to have finished this last January and here I am only half way done with it. Don't worry to those who enjoy my story, I will complete it, I promise. I'm gonna finish this mainly because there's authors out there that start off a good ass fanfic and then they have the audacity to abandon it and leave the readers craving for more. I honestly hate that so much. So I'm making it my goal to not do that. SORRY FOR THE RANT. Anyway like any of the previous chapters you've been reading there's a reference to a tv show. Oh and if you haven't noticed the following chapters are gonna be about 5k words or something like that. That's because I noticed that many people don't like reading long ass chapters. So, I'll just keep them shorter. Plus, I could add more cliffhangers and blue ball you guys. So thanks again for everything guys. Like any chapter I've written there's always a reference to another Animoo. If you could read and review that would be fantastic. Any type of criticism is fine. Anyway I appreciate you guys.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright guys here's the ninth chapter of my ATLA story. Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

Text Like this = **Someone thinking to themselves**

"Text Like this" = **A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 9: The Remedy For a Broken Heart_

Toph walked throughout the town without reason. She had flashbacks to the first time she spent time with Aang by their lonesome. _"Thanks for cooking and feeding dinner to me Toph." Aang whispered at Toph. "What are friends for Twinkle Toes_?" A little smile showed on her face as she thought that moment.

That triggered another one as a memory popped in her head; the time she consulted Aang when he felt weak. _"So Toph is this training enough to beat the Fire Lord?" Aang asked._

 _"Of course it is. To be perfectly honest with you, I believe that you can defeat the Fire Lord with minimum Earth bending skills. I think your willpower can get you through fight alone. Since you need an earthbending teacher I came along. I wanted to tag along not because of that, but because I wanted to be free. I'd rather teach you earthbending than to live back home." Toph said._

 _"Well who knew I'd get some compliments from you Toph." Aang said._

 _"Take it how you want Twinkle Toes." Toph said while eating._

 _"Well that makes me a little better I guess," Aang said._

She felt like breaking. She couldn't accept the fact that Aang was gone. Where her heart was at one point was now a void. She'd ignore the greetings that people gave her as she walked along in emptiness. She felt couples walking with each other. She could feel the happiness that those couples would radiate across the air. That itself made her more depressed. Feeling lost, numb, the love that she started to feel, thanks to a certain Airbender, had now betrayed her. She had nothing. She couldn't bear hearing another couple saying those three dreaded words because it made everything much worse, it hurt too much. Finally she decided to sit down in the nearest bench. She faced the ground and couldn't take it anymore she finally broke. Tears started streaming down her face. As she kept crying a figure started to approach her.

"Toph." Katara said. Toph was startled and tried wiping her tears.

"Hey Katara." Toph mumbled. Katara sat next to Toph looking in to her colorless eyes.

"So I see you're still shaken up about this." Katara said.

Toph gripped her shoulders. "I wasn't ready for this. I didn't even give him a proper goodbye."

"Well, maybe because you knew it wasn't goodbye." Katara said.

Toph looked away. "I-"

"You loved Aang, didn't you?" Katara asked.

"Yes. I loved him so much. Even when I didn't know I loved him I still hoped for him to stay beside me." Toph said.

"Toph…"

"Tell me something. How did you deal with losing your mother?" Toph asked.

"Hm… I'd be lying if I told you that I dealt with it with such ease, but that's just it I couldn't deal with it. I was full of rage and revenge." Katara said.

"Did it ever hurt?" Toph mumbled.

"Very much. Every now and then it gets lonely without her. However, I found great people that helped fill that void." Katara said.

"I just-" Toph stopped.

"Look I can tell you're hurting. I know it's painful right now, but you gotta realize that Aang wouldn't want to see you moping around like this." Katara said.

"How long did it take for your pain to heal?" Toph asked.

"Eh it took a bit for it to mend." Katara said.

"All I wanted was for Aang to be beside me forever. We promised each other." Toph said.

Katara got of the chair and kneeled in front of her.

"..."

Toph began to crack once again. "He told me no matter what he'd be beside me. Even so, he acted so kind around me all the time and all I did was show him the worst, most awful side of me. I'm still so-."

"Listen, to me Toph. All Aang had for you was nothing but praise, he always had the biggest smile when he talked about you. He had faith in anything you did even when you couldn't see it. He believed you truly were a great Earth bender. He's still watching and he always will be. Even at this very moment. No matter where he is I know he wouldn't want to see you being this upset and sad." Katara said

"..."

Katara got up the bench and kneeled in front of Toph to look at her face to face.

"Cheer up Toph. Go back to the way you used to be. The way Aang used to see you. We both know Aang would want you to move on from this. When life shows you 1 thousand ways to cry, show life 1 thousand ways to smile."

Katara said. Toph smiled and hugged Katara.

"Thanks Katara." Toph said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So what will we do?" Sokka asked.

"We have to get reinforcements." Zuko replied.

"We'll attack when?" Sokka asked.

"After we get reinforcements." Zuko clarified

"Based on what Toph said, we need more reinforcements from other nations. So we'll begin to attack in a month." Zuko said.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Sokka asked.

"Well for starters we need to find the new Avatar and then we'll honor Aang as an Avatar. None of this can get out to the public." Zuko said.

Sokka gave a confused glare. "Why not?"

"Well to put it simply, we can't have the public panic about the situation." Zuko said.

"We may have a small problem?" Sokka asked.

Zuko looked at Sokka with a confusing gaze.

"And what would that be?"

"Well this situation is getting much worse." Sokka said.

"Oh you're talking about Aang right?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah. If we take into consideration of what Toph said there's a chance that there won't be a new Avatar." Sokka said.

"Because he was in his Avatar state which made him more vulnerable." Zuko said.

"Exactly. So you know what that means, don't you?" Sokka asked.

Zuko clenched his fisr. "Damn it all. So, if he really is dead he just destroyed the Avatar cycle. What the hell do we do now?"

"We just keep quiet for now. We can't honor Aang's death without finding a new Avatar. That'll throw everything off balance. We can't have that." Sokka said.

"Yeah that makes sense." Zuko said.

"Plus if word to spread that the Avatar is dead you can bet your ass that many shady people are going to attack the Southern Water Tribe." Sokka reasoned.

"Because ideally that's where the next Avatar is supposed to reincarnate." Zuko noted.

"Exactly." Sokka said.

"So now we really can't do anything?" Zuko asked.

"For now. In the meantime we should all get some rest. Especially you Zuko. You have a whole nation to run and they can't their leader all messed up in the head." Sokka said.

"Yeah you're right. You know you're starting to sound like your sister." Zuko said.

Sokka started heading to the exit. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."

"What are you gonna do?" Zuko asked.

Sokka turned to him. "I need to have a talk with someone."

"You mean Toph, don't you?" Zuko asked.

Sokka turned back around and headed to the exit. "Yup."

Zuko smirked. "Well good luck with that."

 **XXXXXXXX**

The next day Sokka stood in front of the Beifong's place and knocked on their door. He heard from his sister that she had a word with her and that should've stopped him from talking with her, but he decided against it. Something about that didn't sit well with him, so he decided to still visit her.

"Who is it?" A voice asked.

Sokka smiled. "It's just me Sokka."

Poppy opened the door and hugged Sokka. "Thank goodness you're here. We need your help. Oh by the way where's Aang? I haven't seen him for a while"

"With what exactly? Oh and Aang's not with us" Sokka asked.

Popp gave a concerning look. "I see well Toph's still depressed about what happened a few days ago. She won't tell us what's wrong, she won't come out of her room, she doesn't eat her food-" she started weeping as she felt helpless.

"Well that's why I kinda came here for. Is your husband here?" Sokka asked.

Poppy nodded. "Yes he's in the other room. Why is there a reason you need him?"

Sokka rubbed his neck in hesitance. "I want the both of you to be here to hear what I have to say."

Poppy gave the young man a confused look, but obliged with his request. "If that's what you need. DARLING DO YOU MIND COMING HERE?"

Lao walked in annoyance. "Yes dear?"

"Sokka here wants to tell us something." Poppy said.

"Well I'd like for the both of you to sit down because I don't know how you'll react to what I have to say." Sokka said.

"Does this have anything to do with how Toph's acting?" Lao asked.

Sokka nodded and looked at the ground. "Yes. In fact that's the whole reason she's like this."

Lao was starting to get annoyed. "Well what is it? Spit it out already."

Sokka looked at the both of them with a dead serious stare. "Aang is dead."

As those words came out of his mouth the Beifongs stood there paralyzed. They couldn't believe what Sokka said.

"I know it's hard to grasp that Aang's no longer here, but it's better if I told you now." Sokka said.

"No it's fine. It's just… Now we see why Toph was acting the way she was." Lao said.

"I can imagine how she's feeling right now. Her first love is now gone." Poppy said.

"Do you know what happened?" Lao asked.

Sokka stared at the ground. "Well, I can't exactly tell you what happened with Aang since we split up, but with what Toph said before she cracked we can assume what happened. Well here goes."

Sokka sat down and explained the story from the beginning. Starting with the alert that they received from sources. He then explained how they split up to finish the job easier. Naturally, Toph and Aang were a pair. After fighting off a couple dozen rebels they realized that the numbers they had originally thought, was a mistake. Then a large explosion was heard across the battlefield and they didn't think of it much, thinking it was Toph just showing off. But when they noticed that Toph's group didn't return, they began to worry and started heading towards the location of the explosion. Katara spotted Toph barely hanging on to her consciousness and Toph explained what happened. They were outnumbered so Aang used himself as a sacrifice and caused the explosion. Zuko and him went to look for Aang, but much to their dismay they had no such luck.

"And that's pretty much it." Sokka said.

Poppy started tearing up. "My poor Toph. She's suffering right now and I couldn't help her. What kind of mother am I?"

Lao hugged his wife. "That's not the way to think right now."

As much as he felt now, Lao couldn't show any kind of vulnerability to his wife. Truth be told he was hurting as well. It wasn't that long ago when he had that deep talk with Aang where he essentially gave him his blessing to marry his daughter. It was so peaceful at that time. He noticed how his daughter and the Avatar enjoyed one another's company and it made him happy, but now that he heard what happened to the Avatar and seeing how his daughter was hurting it didn't sit well with him. He didn't want to see his little princess like that.

"If it's okay with the both of you, I'd like to talk with Toph." Sokka requested.

"Why's that?" Lao asked.

"Truth be told, I hate seeing Toph like this, so I'm gonna talk to her."

"Yes please do. Please bring her back to us." Poppy said.

Sokka gave a reassuring smile. "I'll try my best. Don't try to get your hopes up too high."

"Thank you." Lao said.

As Sokka started walking away he stopped and looked at the Beifongs. "By the way this stays between us. The Fire Lord kinda wants to keep this top secret."

Poppy smiled at Sokka. "Don't worry we'll keep our mouths shut."

With that Sokka nodded and headed to the blind Earth bender's room.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Sokka stood in front of Toph's room and knocked on the door. He waited there for a minute and no response. He knocked again and no response.

Sokka rubbed his head in annoyance. "Terrific. She's not here-."

The door opened and behind the door the tiny Earth bender can be seen. She looked a mess. Bags with dark circles can be seen under her eyes, indicating lack of sleep. Apart from that her eyes were puffy, meaning she was crying a lot. "Hey Sokka. What's up? What do you want?"

Sokka gave a small smile. "Well, for starters, how about you let me in?"

She made way to her bed and sat there indicating Sokka to follow her. He asked her a question, but she didn't acknowledge it. She stared off into space ignoring Sokka.

"Hey Toph you still with us?" Sokka asked.

"..."

Sokka was starting to lose it. "TOPH."

Toph snapped and put on her usual cheerful look. "Huh? Did you say something, Sokka?"

Sokka gave an annoyed look. "Alright, get up you're coming with me."

"Huh why?" Toph asked.

"You're starting to annoy me in this room and you need fresh air." Sokka said.

They both started walking and stopped in front of the same area where Toph met Aang, Katara and Sokka for the first time. She began to feel worse just thinking about Aang.

"Is there a reason why you brought me here?" Toph asked.

"To help you get through this pain." Sokka replied.

Toph snapped. "HOW? HOW ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT HUH? YOU CAN'T BRING BACK THE DEAD FROM THE LIVING. SO HOW?"

"Look just listen this is the first time you've dealt with loss, am I wrong?" Sokka asked.

Toph nodded.

"You're gonna have to move on. How can you move forward if you keep regretting the past? A loss or two is gonna happen and you're gonna have to deal with it. You didn't know about real loss because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. Which is something you've never experienced.

Toph pointed her head downwards avoiding Sokka's gaze. "You talk like you've lost someone you loved. How would you know?"

Sokka gave a small smile. "Well apart from losing my mother I also lost my first love. She sacrificed herself and she became the moon's spirit."

Toph's eyes widened in shock. 'Maybe you can tell me how you did it. So, I can move on too."

Sokka chuckled. "Well not everyone has one exact rule to use to move. If I'm being completely honest; I just dealt with it."

"What do you mean?" Toph asked.

"What I'm trying to say that it is what it is." Sokka said.

"Is that so?" Toph said.

"Look here's the thing, things are going to happen in life and either your going to do something about it or you can let it go ahead and let it destroy you." Sokka said.

"..."

"I got fed up of people giving me that look of sympathy, others worrying about me. I told them to go live out there own lives because here's what I'm not going to do; I'm not going to burden others sitting here doing what? Mourning? No, I need to do something about it. So, I stood up and started walking because I'm sick and tired of watching people die and I can't just sit back and take it anymore. I won't let anyone die. Not as long as I can do something about it." Sokka said.

"And it worked?" Toph asked.

"Yeah… Well for the most part. Not gonna lie though, between us two, I feel like everytime I kiss Suki under the moonlight, I feel like she gets jealous."

Toph laughed at his last remark.

"Look Toph I know that you're gonna miss Aang, but you gotta understand that those days of sulking and acting like little kids are behind us. Let's keep on getting stronger so we can be as strong and cool as Aang."

Toph laughed again. She never aspired to be like Aang.

"That's what I want to see." Sokka said.

Toph gave a confused look. "What?"

"You laughing." Sokka said.

"Thanks Sokka." Toph said.

Sokka started walking away and stopped when he was close to the door.

"Oh and by the way Aang's not dead."

Toph gave him a confused look. "What?"

Sokka smiled. "A person doesn't die when their bodies are 6 feet below. A person dies when they are forgotten." And with that he continued walking.

"Thanks." Toph said.

"Don't mention it. Now if you don't mind we need to train in order to get ready for our raid. Plus you've got some work to do." Sokka said.

Toph gave her signature grin and looked at Sokka. "Alright, then. Let's do it."

 **A/N: So right about now I should be working on the 10th chapter of this fanfic. Next one should be up next week. Anyway like any of the previous chapters you've been reading there's a reference to a tv show. If you could read and review that would be fantastic. Any type of criticism is fine. Anyway I appreciate you guys.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright guys here's the tenth chapter of my ATLA story. Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

Text Like this = **Someone thinking to themselves**

"Text Like this" = **A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 10: A Ghost from the Past_

"Well?" Sokka asked.

Suki and Sokka stood in Toph's room waiting for her to say something. She sat in her bed pondering away. Sokka cleared his throat. "You know you've been real quiet over there Toph. What can you tell us? You know about the guy leading the raid."

"..."

Suki walked over to Toph's side and gave her a gentle smile. "Come on now it's not like we're asking you to name him right away."

Toph hesitated. "Well… I'm trying to remember, but it's kind of foggy. Ugh... I hate that my head hurts everytime I try thinking too much."

Suki patted Toph's back in comfort. "You're still not used to doing so much since you're injuries, huh?"

"Yeah."

Suki stood up and headed towards the table in Toph's room grabbing the drink she brought for her. "Here." Handing it over to her.

Toph took the drink giving it a questioning look. She held it to her nose and wafted it. "What is it?"

"Warm water mixed with lemon." Suki said.

"Ok...? Why...?"

Suki pointed at Toph's head. "Drinking warm water mixed with juice squeezed from one-half of a lemon will reduce the intensity of your headache."

Sokka rubbed his chin thinking of another way to help Toph. "So you really can't remember anything? Even if it's something small. It could still help us figure out who's responsible for this."

Toph put her drink down and began thinking again to when she and Aang faced the enemy. " _ **Who are you?"Aang asked.  
**_ " _ **Well if you must know I was a former general of Lord Ozai's branch, General Shuni."**_

Sokka waved his hands in front of Toph as she began wandering off into deep thought. "Hey, you still with us?"

That seem to have shaken her up from her daze. "Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. I was thinking of his name."

"So you remembered?" Sokka asked.

"Kind of. If I remember correctly I think his name was Shuni…?"

Sokka seemed rather excited. "Ok, ok we're finally getting somewhere. Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"I think he said he was a colonel…? or was it a lieutenant? Something like that."

"Well, I think we're making progress. We need to tell Zuko about this guy's name. He could probably give more info about this guy."

Toph gave a questioning look. "What's so important about this guy being named Shuni?"

"I think you mean Shinu." A rougher voice interrupted. The door opened and Zuko appeared.

"Hey Sparky. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just coming to see if we made any progress when your conversation caught my attention. So I eavesdropped a bit and figured out who you were talking about."

Toph snapped her fingers in realization. "Shinu. That's right. That was the name he told when Twinkle Toes questioned him."

Sokka gave a quizzical glare. "Shinu? Who's that?"

"He was a General that was under the command of my uncle when he was the Fire Lord. However, when my uncle was removed as the Fire Lord he followed suit." Zuko said.

Sokka facepalmed at Toph. "I can't believe it. He was a general. What were you thinking Toph? How could you leave off something so important?"

Toph shrugged. "Hey man. How was I supposed to remember every little detail when I've got little Earth benders stomping in my head."

Sokka turned to Zuko. "Wait something doesn't add up. If he was a follower of Ozai didn't he have the same fate as he did?"

"I can't remember what happened to him. All I remember was that he was a general and he disliked the Earth Kingdom. If I remember correctly there was a rumor that he wanted to burn down the entire Earth Kingdom using Sozin's comet."

"I see… So I'm guessing he must've been working with someone else in order to have many rebels to his disposal." Sokka noted.

"Probably. Truth be told he wasn't a very bright person. So we can only assume he had to have formed some sort of alliance with someone else." Zuko said.

"Well now that we have figured out who was responsible for the attack we have to report this to the rest of the group." Sokka said.

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So that about wraps it up in our part." Sokka said. In the main room of the Beifong estate was Sokka, Zuko, Katara, Suki, Lao, Poppy, Iroh, and Bumi.

Toph cleared her throat. "Just dealing with part of their army was tough enough. I'm pretty sure that was a warmup. They probably have stronger forces waiting for us. And without knowing the extent of their power no one could really beat them. Aang struggled to handle them. It was far beyond his imagination. He pushed himself way beyond his limit. Honestly, he could've run away and relay the info to all of us, but he chose to fight in order to leave with no troubles."

Katara's voice cracked. "That stupid idiot."

Toph put her hands to her hips. "That's why we need to attack as soon as possible."

Iroh raised his hand indicating Toph to be quite. "If what you are saying is true, then it's still very unwise to go against them under these conditions."

"BUT-"

"You said it yourself Toph. They're just too strong." Iroh said.

Suki looked at Sokka. "How's the planning and negotiating for reinforcements going?"

"It looks like it'll take a little longer."

Toph looked at Sokka irritated. "Like how much longer?"

"I can't really say I don't think that they even know."

Toph began cracking. "What what do you mean? While they're goofing around we're losing time."

Sokka gave a sympathetic glare at Toph. "Look planning itself takes awhile and waiting for reinforcements comes down to negotiation and numbers. So it's very time consuming."

"It'll take a month a least." Zuko cut in.

Toph's eyes widened in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. That long?

Suki laughed a little at Toph's disappointment. "Now, now no need to look so disappointed, Toph."

Katara looked confused. "What are we gonna do in the meantime?"

Zuko cleared his throat. "Well Sokka's leading the planning alongside his father, so that helps out speeding the process. I'm dealing with negotiations and I'm doing my best to get as much help as I can. For now, all we can do is play the waiting game."

Toph headed towards the exit in anger. "There's no way in hell I'm waiting for a month. I'll make them speed up the process. I'll give them something to negotiate about if they don't hurry it up."

Sokka gave her a look of disbelief. "What are you gonna do? Interrupt them? Bother them? That'll make it much worse and it'll prolong the planning time. If you do something as stupid as that we don't know how much longer it will take. Worst case scenario, we get no reinforcements whatsoever and we will have to think of a whole new plan. Plus, invading will take a lot longer."

Toph clenched her fist to the point where small droplets of crimson soaking through. "I _**will**_ avenge Twinkle toes-."

Tension grew in the air. They all knew what Toph's intentions were and knowing the wiser Toph would do something that'll put everything and everyone in jeopardy.

"I just can't sit around doing nothing while the person who did this to Aang gets to laugh at us. It's _UNFORGIVABLE."_

Iroh gave Toph a concerning glare. "But listen Toph now that we have all of this done and figured out who the culprit is there's nothing that involves you."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"All I'm saying is that there's nothing you can do now."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT."

Iroh changed his quiet and patient demeanor to a much more serious one. "I'll tell you what I do know. I know that you're definitely not strong enough to take down that opponent."

Toph clenched her teeth. "What in the hell did you say?

"You know I'm right. Even someone as powerful as Aang, who I might remind you, was the Avatar,, couldn't take them down. And if he couldn't you think someone as yourself could?"

Toph came to that realization. "Well.. I guess not."

"Listen to this old man, Toph. If you were to follow your heart instead of your head at this very moment and do what it is you were going to do, you'd die a senseless death. You'd throw away everything Aang stood for. Do you want that?"

Toph couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her old friend. "So what are you trying to say? That I should forget avenging Twinkle Toes?

"You know damn well I said no such thing,"

"Well then? What are you trying to tell me."

The room has just gone from deafening noise to dead silence. It was so quiet everyone could feel the banging coming from their chest.

No one had anything to offer to calm down Toph. At this point offering any words of sympathy will be shot down with her gaze alone. She was beginning to snap and they knew it as well.

Bumi made a dental click (tsk sound.) "I'm as furious as you are, I too want to avenge the death of my best friend Aang. I believe the only person who could do it right now is you. Toph Beifong."

Toph was gobsmacked. "Wait, what? Me?"

Bumi smiled. "No, the other Toph Beifong from the Southern Water Tribe. OF COURSE YOU. You do want to avenge Aang don't you?"

Toph smirked. "You better believe your ass I want to."

"Then we must continue training. I King Bumi myself will continue with your training and I'm going to beat it mercilessly into to you if that's okay?"

"Will it help me avenge Twinkle Toes?"

"I'm gonna be honest; There's no guarantees. That's all up to you. I do have to warn you though, my training methods will make you wish you were never born. So get ready."

Toph's eyes were full of determination. "Count me in."

Bumi laughed at her reaction. "Nicely said."

Zuko gave a small grin. "Now then let's continue with our objective at hand."

 **XXXXXXXX**

"So now what?" Katara asked.

Bumi patted Toph's head. "Well I'll be training her for the rest of the month until you finished with your part."

Zuko nodded. "Understood. Meanwhile, we'll try to hurry up with these negotiations. If we finish this quicker than expected, we'll notify you."

Bumi smiled. "Right... you do that. Oh and don't worry too much on your part. If you were to rush any sort of planning it could affect our chances of winning. Take as much time as you need. Better to be safe than sorry. I don't know about you, but I'd rather keep my head attached on to me if that's alright with you."

Toph smiled at her friends. "Sparky, Sugar Queen, and Sparky you'd better not be goofing off while I'm gone. Knowing you Sugar Queen as soon as you step foot into Sparky's office you guys try to handle some other business. If ya know what I mean..."

Red leaked into Katara's cheeks as her eyes darted at the blind Earthbender. "TOPH."

Zuko wasn't doing any better. The Fire Lord had a hue of red spread throughout his cheeks as he burned from embarrassment.

Toph smiled with a malicious glee. "I'm just kidding you two. You should see your faces. Anyway hold down the fort for me while I'm gone."

Sokka smiled. "Don't worry about us. We've got it handled. You should be more worried about yourself. Bumi is no joke. I can only imagine what he'll do to you."

"Right… You mean to tell me I've got to leave everything to you? In that case I might as well stay and forget training."

"Wow that was so funny Toph. Please stop my sides are aching too much." Sokka sarcastically said.

Toph laughed at Sokka's remark."Anyway I'm off you guys. See ya."

Katara smiled at her. "We'll be waiting for you when you get back."

Toph nodded and hugged all three of them. She then walked towards her parents. "Sorry I gotta leave again."

Poppy smiled at her. "Don't worry about us. You do what must be done in order to kick their asses."

Lao shared the same expression his wife had. "Like your mother said do what must be done. Remember Toph you are the only person who can avenge Aang."

Toph smiled at her parents and them a hug. "Thank you so much. I love you guys."

"We love you too. Now give 'em hell." Lao said.

Toph nodded and headed to Bumi's side. "See ya later guys." And with that Bumi and Toph prepared on the journey to Omashu.

Zuko walked away from the entrance. "Come on guys. We have to continue with our work."

 **XXXXXXXX**

In a different area an old man could be seen removing a cooling cloth from an unconscious person. Darkness consumed the room. The moonlight faintly showed a bit of brightness. The sky was covered in a blanket of darkness.

The unconscious person began to open their eyes

"Ah it looks like you've finally woken up." The old man said.

"Where am I?"

 **A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. I got sick for a few days and way bedridden until yesterday so I wasn't able to write much of anything. But I'll try updating one chapter today and tomorrow. Right about now I should be working on the 11th chapter of this fanfic. After tomorrow the update schedule will resume back to normal. Next one should be up next week. While updating this story I'll be editing previous chapters. Anyway, there's a reference to an Animoo. If you could read and review that would be fantastic. Any type of criticism is fine. Anyway I appreciate you guys.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright guys here's the eleventh chapter of my ATLA story. Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

Text Like this = **Someone thinking to themselves**

"Text Like this" = **A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 11: Resonance_

"Ah it looks like you've finally woken up." The old man said.

As Aang opened his eyes he saw a figure, hoping it would be Toph. His vision cleared up and saw an old man. "Where am I?"

"Before this life and the next."

Aang studied the man in front of him. _He rescued me?_ "Well… Am I… Am I d-dead?"

"..."

Aang gave questioning glare. "Wait you said between this life and the next. Where exactly is that? It's dark so I really can't see. And besides gramps who are you? Don't tell me you're really actually death himself. You know the guy who takes people into the afterlife."

His eyes traveled to the side of the old man and his eyes opened in panic. "No I don't want to die not yet. Somebody help… I just saw a scythe and I knew it, I was right. You're death himself, the grim reaper." Tears cascaded his face. "Wait I lived my life helping others, sure I did some stupid stuff here and the with Toph, but still I'm certain the scale tips moreover the positive not right-." He winced in pain.

"Just shut up already. You talk a lot. If you're still able to feel any pain, shows the fact that you are still alive. However, the fact that you survived that freak accident could be called miraculous. Based on those burn marks that were shown earlier I can only assume happened because of a massive explosion."

"So where did you find me?"

The old man pointed upwards. "Laying on top of my roof. I swear… you youngsters couldn't cause any more trouble. Still though... I patched you as best as I could. With tape being only resource I used."

"You're SERIOUS? I'M NOT SOME BROKEN TOY WHO COULD BE EASILY FIXED WITH GLUE AND TAPE."

"Now hold on a minute. I never said anything about using glue… that stuff gets very expensive nowadays."

Aang closed his eyes wishing it was all a bad dream. "You're joking aren't you?"

"Of course I am. What kind of moron do you take me for? I obviously had to use some of my powers."

"You could've just answered with that a minute ago." Aang sighed. "So what you're saying is that you saved me? Right? Well, thank you."

"It's a little too early to start thanking me. I still need you, after all helping out others is your motto isn't it?"

Aang scoffed. "Well I mean yeah… Wait, what do you need me to do? You want me to help you around the bathroom and stuff?"

"That would be good."

Aang grunted in disgust. "Hmmm… Well as much as I'd like to help you with that I can't stay here for so long. Now that I know I'm alive I've got to get back to Gaoling. There was an ambush going on and it went bad. So to avoid any of that I could protect them for sure now."

"Protect your comrades for sure?"

"What's wrong?"

"Well how do I put this delicately…?" He put his hand in his chin. "Ah yes. I'm afraid with your current predicament your life as a fighter is over."

Aang eyes widened in shock. "No,no,no, but I- but I- I just realised I'm alive and I'm confident my power and skill will be better." His eyes were full of disparity.

"Wake up to reality, kid. Nothing ever goes as planned in this cruel world. The longer you live, the more you realise the only thing that truly exists in this reality are merely suffering,pain , and futility.

Aang gave a look of annoyance _Man, what's up with this old geezer._

"Listen everywhere you look in this world wherever there is light there will always be shadows too... As long as there's a concept of victors, there's also the vanquished The selfish instinct of wanting to wanting to protect peace initiates wars and hatred is born in order to protect love."

Aang closed his eyes. _Great… He's starting a lecture. Been there done that. It's like that with every old person I've met. It'll go on forever if no one stops them. "_ So where are we now anyways?"

The old man ignored his question. "You're in this current predicament because someone else was saved. Am I wrong?" His eyes opened in realisation to that time he saved Toph.

" _ **Toph I got an idea." Aang said.**_  
 _ **  
"Well then let's hear it airhead." Toph said.**_

"I'll earthbend a wall to create a distraction and then…" Aang paused.

"And then… THEN WHAT AANG?" Toph shouted.

"Then… You make a run for it." Aang replied. Toph her head as she looked at Aang with disbelief.

"Why are you looking at me like that." Aang asked.

"Because that's the stupidest you've said so far" Toph said

"No there's gotta be another solution." Toph said.

"We're being outnumbered Toph and we don't have time. I need you to tell Sokka and the rest of the gang what we're dealing with." Aang said.

"Can't you just go in to your Avatar State?" Toph asked.

"I can't because I might hurt you and I don't think I could ever live with myself if that ever happened." Aang said.

"I can't just leave you behind Aang." Toph said.

"Well I just can't sit back and do nothing not while I can do something." Aang said.

"How do you think Sokka and them are gonna feel letting you sacrifice yourself for the rest of us? How do you think I'm gonna feel?" Toph asked.

"Well do you have any other ideas?" Aang asked.

"No… but." Toph paused.

"Exactly. Besides, you're hurt right now, so I'll stall for some time while you make a run for it. Got it?"

"But, you'll get killed" Toph said

"Oh well. I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice." Aang reasoned

.

Aang shook those past thoughts from his head. "Look just shut up already. I can't stay here for too long. Old man I gotta get-" he winced in pain

"Fine you can leave if you want to… That is if you are to move as you are right now."

Aang continued to examine the old man. _He has clothes of earth kingdom. "_ Who the hell are you?"

"I am merely a wandering ghost."

"Yeah, right. And I'm the tooth fairy." Aang retorted.

"Hold on a second, you mean to tell me that you're more likely to believe I'm the grim reaper? Well, I guess that I might just be death in sense, for our reality is our hell."

"Just shut up already. I just want to go home to everyone." Aang moaned.

"And I told you before not everything in this reality goes according to plan. In time… you will begin to realise that as well."

Aang smiled as he thought of his friends. _Just wait Sokka, Zuko, Katara, Suki, Toph, I'M ALIVE._

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang opened his eyes and noticed it was night."Ugh I can't take anymore of this laying down. Like come on man." Aang looked around and didn't see the old man. "Where'd that old geezer go off to?" He looked all over the place and found him sitting outside in his porch.

"How long have I been here old geezer?"

"I don't know two days, three days, a week? I don't keep track of time. It's never been that important to me."

"Well if you'd stop dozing off every five minutes you'd know old man."

"While we're on the subject of sleeping you need to shut up. You're always saying the same name in your sleep. Toph,Toph,Toph. What is she? Your lover?"

Aang blushed. He lifted his hands and threw a punch. "Well now I've got to keep my body in condition."

"Calm down, kid. Your back is still messed up. I wouldn't recommend for you to do any sort of activity for a while."

"So what do I do then?"

The old man offered him a spot next to him. "You can join me if you want."

Aang hesitated at first but caved in not to long after. "So what are we doing?"

"Looking at the stars."

"Can I ask you a question?" Aang asked.

"You already did."

Aang facepalmed. "Oh for crying out loud. Not you too."

The old man laughed. "I'm just messing with you. What do you want?"

"Is there something that happened that made you like this?"

"Hmm… Let me think." He pondered. "Oh I know. Each and every person I loved was killed right before my eyes."

"Oh… and that's what made you like this?"

"If that's what you want to think."

"Did you try to do anything about it?"

"Oh believe me kid I tried. I tried again, again, again, and again. However, the more I tried the more futile it became. After my best friend died, I vowed to never let something like this happen again. Though life had other plans. After my wife was killed right in front of me, I gave up."

"..."

"Eventually I came to the realization that nothing goes according to plan in this cruel world. Everyone you loved and trusted either does or betrays you."

"No way that's not going to happen to me."

The old man chuckled. "I had those same thoughts as well. Now look at me. I'm a senile old man who's lost everything."

"..."

"First my house gets destroyed, then I have to take care of this stranger I've never met. This whole week's been an unlucky one for me."

"HEY."

"Oh, sorry, sorry. It's the same for you as well. We've both got it rough, huh? Oh, well. But as long as we're alive, there'll be days like this. For you… there'll be more hardships in life."

"I haven't given up on my loved ones and I know they haven't given up on me."

"You know they probably think your dead. That explosion would have left no survivors. I'm pretty sure they realised that. And you know another thing? They're probably already looking for a new Avatar."

Aang's eyes widened. "How did you know I was the Avatar? I haven't even said a word."

"Well maybe because the Avatar wears that monk outfit. Or maybe because he's got those Air nomad tattoos. Or maybe because he's the last Airbender. Kinda like what you are."

"Was that really necessary?"

"No. Not really. But enough asking me questions. What about you?"

"Well what about me?"

"This… Toph girl. What is she to you?"

"She's just a friend."

The old man laughed. "Oh, I've heard that one before. I bet you anything that you love her. Don't you?"

Aang sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"It's written all over your face."

"Is that so?"

"Why don't you tell me more about her."

"Well, I… I know how I feel about her. Because when I look into her eyes I just see the sky. That girl had the most radiant smile that I've ever seen. She was just filled with joy. She's a never ending adventure that I want to be a part of."

"Smooth, kid. Now if only you could tell her that, then maybe you two can get down to business. If ya know what I mean?"

"But, I can't-" Aang lowered his head.

"Listen kid. Stop being a wuss. You need to man up. You want to live your life in regret and sorrow just because you didn't tell her how you feel?

"No…"

"We are rarely given a second chance for anything. So you might as well tell her now before you regret anything. Wouldn't you rather trust and regret than doubt and regret?"

"FINE ALREADY. I'LL TELL HER DAMN IT."

"That's more like it. Anyway get some rest because I'm gonna use you tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out. Get some rest." And with that he went inside to his room. Aang followed suit and played in his bed.

Laying in his bed he recalled his final moments with Toph. Especially that kiss they shared for the first time.

 _ **"Well, then you better come back alive Twinkle Toes." Toph said.**_

Hand stretched his arm upwards. "It's starting to feel… just a little longer. I'll be seeing you soon…"

 **XXXXXXXX**

Aang yawned as the old man woke him up at the crack of dawn. "So what do you want from me this early?"

"I'm gonna teach you some bending."

"But I already know about this stuff. There's really nothing left to learn."

The old man smirked. "Shows what you now. I'm gonna teach you a new bending technique that you've never seen."

Aang's eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Which is… what?"

The old man gave the biggest smile he could. "LAVA BENDING."

 **A/N: HOLY CRAP I JUST REALIZED THAT TODAY IS THE 2ND YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MY FIC. Honestly it doesn't even feel like 2 years have gone by. Time sure does fly huh? So right about now I should be working on the 12th chapter of this fanfic. Next one should be up next week. While updating this story I'll be editing previous chapters. Anyway, there's a reference to an Animoo. If you could read and review that would be fantastic. Any type of criticism is fine. Anyway I appreciate you guys. I wanna give a big thanks to all of you who read my story from the beginning and put up with my crap. THANK YOU SO MUCH**


	12. Chapter 12

**Alright guys here's the twelfth chapter of my ATLA story. Anyway, quick things to point out if haven't noticed.**

Text Like this = **Someone thinking to themselves**

"Text Like this" = **A conversation (for those of you who don't know.)**

 **TEXT LIKE THIS = A full on shouting match**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. That goes to the creators of the story Bryan and Mike**

 _Chapter 12: A New Technique_

Aang's jaw dropped. "Wait, Lava bending?"

"Yes, that is what I said before you repeated it."

"How though?"

The old man raised his hand indicating him to shut up. "I was getting to _**that**_. Anyway, you know that there are four elements; Fire, water, earth, and wind?

Aang nodded.

"Well you can use a combination of those elements to create something else. For example you can create Lava bending by simply using Earth and Fire bending."

"How? Exactly?"

"It has to be a combination of both elements. However, they both have to be in synch in order to achieve this."

"Ok…?"

The old man sighed. "You're not getting any of this are you?"

Aang stood firm. "No, sir I do not."

"Figured as much. I'll try to explain again."

"Please do. But make it a lot easier."

"I don't know who your teacher was, but boy do I have some massive respect for them."

"Why's that?"

"Because of how someone was able to teach you anything. Where your teacher found the patience to teach you is beyond me. I mean give me a break."

"Tell me what you really think."

"Alright I'm gonna try to explain this as easy as I can… Firebend with your right hand."

Aang nodded. He proceeded to follow orders.

"Alright… Now Earth bend with your left hand.

Aang followed orders.

"Now… Focus is important. Try doing both at the same time."

Aang closed his eyes shut. He thought of nothing but synchronizing both elements at the same time. _**HAAA.**_ The technique backfired and sent Aang flying, hitting a tree in the process.

The old man facepalmed. "Alright, that's enough."

Aung stood up. "This is harder than I thought."

"Of course it is. This has never been done before. What made you think you were going to perfect it right away?"

"B-but-"

"That being said. You managed to grasp the concept. Well… sort of." He pointed at the mess Aang left behind. "A little bit of lava can be seen. A miracle you didn't burn this place to the ground."

"What's next?"

"Rest."

Aang groaned. "Again? I'm already better." Aung moved around. "See?"

"That may be, but you don't honestly think I'm stupid. I saw you struggle just to get up a minute ago. I need you at hundred percent for this training otherwise…"

Aang gave a quizzical glare. "Otherwise… What?"

"You'll end up in that bed again and you won't be able to do any fighting for good."

"You said that earlier. That my days as a fighter were over."

The old man shrugged. "I lied that time."

"WHY? I WAS ACTUALLY SCARED FOR MY LIFE."

"I just wanted to say that line for so long."

Aang facepalmed. _Great… A basket case._

"Anyway, you need your rest."

"I heard the first time."

"Then why aren't you doing it?"

"Get off my case, old geezer."

The old man smiled. _It's been a while since I've had an argument with someone._

Both of them went inside the house. Aang sat on the bed and the old man pulled a chair setting it next to Aang's bed.

"How did you know about combining other elements to create a new bending technique ?"

"I didn't. It was just an idea."

"How?"

"My friend and I were messing around. He was a Firebender and I was an Earthbender. We were coming up with a new combination attack and we went overboard. After the mess cleared up I saw something that caught my attention. Lava. There was a small amount of lava where our attack was directed at. My friend didn't think too much of it at the time. I thought a while and realized what had happened. I couldn't replicate it, so I gave up. I guess fate brought you here. I guess I'm supposed to teach you this technique."

"Is there any other combinations that I could do?

"Hm… Perhaps if you combine earth and airbending you could achieve some form of magnetic bending. If you combine Earth and waterbending you achieve woodbending. You could also use earth and waterbending in order to make mudbending. That's about all I could think of."

Aang stared at his hands. _That much, huh?_

"Don't worry about it too much today. Leave tomorrow's problems for the you of tomorrow."

"Hey old geezer."

"What is it?"

"Do you think I could actually perfect this technique?"

"I don't know. That's all up to you. I can't force this on you. You'll have to figure it out on your own."

"..."

"And you better figure it out quickly. You're just laying in bed doing nothing. Change is happening whether you know it or not."

"Change?"

"The enemy is growing stronger slowly, but surely. Change that is really frightening doesn't occur suddenly. It nibbles away slowly and steadily at everyday life. These changes are so minute that neither oneself nor others around will notice it. By the time one realizes it, it's already too late. Things will have already progressed past the point of no return."

Aang clenched his teeth."I can't let that happen. I won't allow it. But my body isn't responding to me."

"If we don't like something and we can't accept it. We'll have to stop it with our own hands."

"I'll do my best."

The old man yawned. "Sure, what ever. Get some rest."

Aang gave him an annoyed glare. _**That damn old geezer**_

 **XXXXXXXX**

 _ **Two days later**_

"You sure you're ready for this? You just got healed yesterday."

"That whole thing was a waste honestly."

"So you're good to go? Full speed ahead right?"

Aang nodded furiously. "You bet."

The old man mumbled. "That's what you'd like to think at least."

"What'd you say?"

"I said time to get first let's get through the basics."

"Again?"

The old man nodded. _Oh boy_

Aang started chuckling.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh it's nothing it just been so long since I've actually had somebody train me. I don't know why but I'm feeling good about it.

"Is that right?" He started chuckling along with him. "Laugh about while you can... Time will not stop for us. Doesn't matter who you are."

"What's next?"

"Well you know how to use all four elements and you sort of, not really, know how to mesh them. Now for the hard part learning how to control it. The problem is that this takes too much time to learn, time that we do not have to on our hands."

"What am I supposed to do then? I don't have much-. " Aang was cut off

"If you'd let me _**finish**_. Anyway, I've taken into account that you don't have much time, so I've created a schedule that'll help with your training. If I'm being honest, this training is intense. So I must ask you; Are you one hundred percent sure you're up for it?"

"You said it yourself. Time is of the essence. So I can't be second guessing right now."

"Excellent. I like people like you. People who keep going when faced with adversity. No wonder this Toph girl kissed you."

Aang's face was fuming red. "H-how d-did you know about that?"

"You talk a lot in your sleep. Anyway, Lavabending. Earth nature on your left hand and water nature on the other one. I'm pretty sure it's not that difficult to use each of them independently for you. Right?"

Aang nodded.

"But to be able to activate both of them and use them simultaneously… Well, that's a different story. Anyway let's get started."

Aang saluted. "Yes sir." He started trying to perfect combining both element, but failed miserably.

The old man found a nice place to lay his head on. _This is gonna be my whole day isn't it?_

Hours went by and nothing happened. Aang was still in the same place he was two days ago. He put his head down.

"I can't anymore."

The old man gave him a face of disappointment. "And this is the power you used to protect your friends. No wonder why you turned out like you did."

Aang's eyes widened. The old man saw his expression.

"Alright time to call it a day."

 **XXXXXXXX**

Staring into the sunset, Aang looked defeated.

"You're not gonna eat?"

"I'm really not that hungry, but thanks."

The old man shrugged. "Suit yourself. More for me to feast on."

Nightfall came and Aang still remained static in the same place. The dead of night was covered in a blanket of darkness.

"Seriously? You're still here. I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Oh… hey."

"Alright move aside kid. You're in my favorite spot."

Aang moved aside remaining quiet as ever.

"You're a little off, today."

"Whatever."

"This group you fought with...They're strong aren't they?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, What's your plan?"

"Winging it."

"Your team couldn't beat them, what makes you think you could?"

"..."

"You know what your doing wrong?"

"Look, you do your thing and I'll do my own. Besides I already moved from your spot."

"I'm not talking about the seating arrangements."

"..."

"Well for the sake of your friends I hope you wouldn't do anything stupid."

"..."

"If you don't… Well, who would want to go to a funeral? You'll actually be dead this time. You'll break your friends hearts' for the second time."

Aang started clenching his fist slowly.

"You're as sharp as they come. As much pain as it is to say. You've got great talent. Sometime down the near future you'll be someone who they could rely on."

"But now… They've got someone who can't protect anyone. You couldn't even protect that Toph-."

Aang lost it. Anger consumed him. "JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GETTING AT?"

The old man seemed unfazed. "Only the truth."

"WILL YOU SHUT UP. SHUT YOUR MOUTH. This talk is making me sick." Aang started to walk away.

"What? Afraid you might get hurt. Some damn friend, huh?"

Aang turned around giving him a death glare. "What'd you say?"

"You know I'm right. No point of making yourself crazy. Life is hell get used to it. There are no magical fixes it's all up to you. And by the looks of it you can't even fix yourself. You can't find the way for others if you, yourself is still lost. Nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy."

Aang tried to keep his cool. "If that's all you have to say, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't have time to argue. That's something that a woman would do.

The old man chuckled. "And what the hell does that make you? Not a man that's for damn sure. The way your just giving up, as far as I can see you're nothing but a coward. You think you can quit and things will stop just for you? Someone's gotta stop that invasion whether it's you or someone else. Your group of comrades are gonna get sent with that person and they'll face the same risks, some might not make it. One's you might've of saved if you wouldn't have given up. You've got a chance to reflect your errors, help fix your mistakes. The choice is simple your either a leeway or a barrier.

"What do you want from me?"

The old man stood up looking at Aang. Staring at each other the old man gave him a single piece of advice.

"Let it out kid."

Aang's eyes widened.

"All of the anger and the sadness and the fear. Everything brewing inside of you, you've got to let it go. It all starts from there. Remember I'll be here for you." He left inside the house.

Aang began to hold his heart. Tears cascaded his face as he was wailing. The old man was by the door when he turned towards the outside.

 _I'll see you tomorrow._

 **A/N: So right about now I should be working on the 13th chapter of this fanfic. Next one should be up next week. This story has 5 chapters before wrapping it up. So stay tuned for the final chapters of my fix. While updating this story I'll be editing previous chapters. Anyway, there's a reference to an Animoo. If you could read and review that would be fantastic. Any type of criticism is fine. Anyway I appreciate you guys. Thank you to all those who continue to read this story.**


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